Sons of Satan
by Great Fang
Summary: As Paladin, and as a friend of Yuri Egin; Shiro Fujimoto took it upon himself to raise both her sons. Unfortunately for Shiro, the Illuminati had other plans. As his last deed in Assiah, Lucifer kidnapped the infant Rin and dragged him to Gehenna. Fifteen years later, Rin returns to Assiah under strict orders from Satan to fight the exorcists alongside Lucifer.
1. Chapter 1: Worlds apart

Welcome to the sons of Satan fic! This is my first time writing a blue exorcist fic, and i'm honestly excited. I've had this idea for a long while, but i couldn't do it because I've been busy with my other fic, and school, but i managed to get a friend on board and this fic is finally becoming a reality!

As it says in the synopsis, this will be an AU fic, and a multi chapter fic as well. How long will it be? i'm not really sure, but i recon it's gonna be a decent length.

Now as for the full synopsis, here it is: As Paladin, and as a friend of Yuri Egin; Shiro Fujimoto took it upon himself to raise both her orphan sons, as normal human beings. Unfortunately for Shiro, the Illuminati had other plans. As his last deed in Assiah, Lucifer captures the infant Rin and drags him to Gehenna. Fifteen years later, Rin returns to Assiah under strict order form Satan, to fight the exorcists alongside Lucifer. Rin has no problems with following these order, but when he comes face to face with his twin brother, he finds that it's not as easy as he thought it would be.

So i hope you'll like this fic, as much as i liked writing it. Now of course, i don't have the right for Blue exorcist, and this is simply non profit fic.

Now read on, and hope you like it.

Chapter 1

Worlds apart

* * *

Yukio pulled the trigger of his pistol without so much as blinking. In less than a second the holy bullet shot through the barrel, and stayed true to its intended course. Yukio's hand didn't so much as move from the recoil of the gun, nor did he flinch when the bullet penetrated the skull of a goblin clean through, just before it came to contact with him. The shot was perfect –as always- and, clean. However, the death of the goblin was anything but, as it blew up into smithereens, it's remain spluttering to the ground, and dirtying the ground… not that the ground could get any dirtier.

He was in a dingy, disgusting alley after all, only a few kilometers away from the church. The reason why he was here was because his father got a call from the higher ups telling him that there was a nest of goblins that had recently moved into this part of the city. It was a menial job, something even the lowest of the low exorcist could do, but his father had insisted that he go. He wasn't prideful, or think himself above such trifle tasks, but he would be lying if he said he enjoyed being outside in the middle of the night, in the cold. He liked exercising don't get him wrong, but he liked sleeping in his comfortable bed even more.

Yukio sighed, and reloaded his guns with ease and expertise that could only be achieved after years of training, and practice. As he reloaded his gun, he made his way deeper into the alley. He wanted to exterminate all the goblins as cleanly, and quickly as possible so that he could go home, and into his comfortable bed. That was mostly wishful thinking really; he knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

Goblins are one of his least favourite low-level demons barely beneath ghouls, and that is due to the sheer size of their nests, and the annoying way they hid from exorcists. Goblins were annoying, and time consuming to exterminate, and his current predicament proved that! He had just spent over an hour searching for the nest, and exterminating goblins along the way.

For these reasons, Yukio hated goblins. In fact he preferred higher level demons, because they tended to be low in numbers -sometimes being by themselves- and they tended to face exorcists without fear. This willingness to fight exorcists made it easy for them to kill them without having to chase after them, but it also made it incredibly dangerous for the unlucky humans that came across them.

Yukio sighed once more, and he looked around every corner of the alley as he passed through. His pistol was clenched in one hand, ready to fire if a gobbling sprang out of nowhere. He was a little tensed as he waited, but after almost a minute of not spotting any goblins, he thought he might be in the wrong place. He was certain that he followed the trail correctly, and that this is where the nest had to be, as well as the king.

Making sure that he hadn't looked over anything, Yukio lowered his gun, and looked behind him the entrance of the alley, and from where he came, nor spotting any goblins as his eyes inspected the path.

' _Maybe they all left?'_ He thought to himself, but even as he thought that, he knew he was wrong. Goblins very rarely left their nests once they acclimated to their new homes, which only left one explanation. The goblins were bidding their time, and probably hoping that he either pass by them, or ambush him.

At the thought of an ambush, Yukio's grip on his pistol tightened. As if on cue, a loud bang came from behind him, and Yukio snapped from his thoughts, and jerked his head back. A rather large goblin was quickly running towards him. The goblin had its eyes dead set on him, as he leaped in the air towards him.

Without batting an eye, Yukio brought his pistol up, aimed it at the goblins head and pulled the trigger just when it was in range. The goblin exploded, and its remains splattered messily across the alley, but not a drop landed on him. Yukio lowered his pistol slightly, after not seeing any more goblins, but then out of nowhere several loud bangs went off, and a horde of ten goblins sprang out of garbage cans, and boxes and they all quickly made their way towards him to attack all at once.

In other person -even low ranking exorcists- would have frozen on the spot, there were just too many goblins closing in on him, but Yukio's simply furrowed his brows in concentration. There were too many goblins coming his way to simply shoot them all, even though it would be more impressive and exhilarating, Yukio knew his limits. Without wasting time, he reached for the pouch on his hip, and took out a holy water grenade. Without looking back, he expertly popped the cap with one hand, and threw it at the small group of goblins. The grenade flew in the air towards the goblins which they paid little attention to. But as he saw how fast they were gaining ground Yukio soon realize it wouldn't detonate fast enough to kill the goblins before they reached him. Yukio raised his gun, aimed it at the grenade and pulled the trigger. The grenade exploded, shrouding the alley in mist of water. When the water hit the goblins they shrieked in pain, and quickly exploded. The remains of the goblins shoot through all directions, hitting everything in sight.

Unable to move away fast enough, Yukio put his arm in front of his face to cover his head from the splattered remains of the goblins, leaving the rest of his body unprotected. After the remains of the goblins landed on the surfaces, and he was sure nothing remained, Yukio put his arm down and grimaced when he looked down at himself. His uniform was completely stained and dirtied by the remains of the goblins, not to mention that it stink. Yukio grunted in exasperation, and disgust- so much for keeping his uniform crisp, and clean, now father will be mad for his carelessness.

Yukio shock his hand, shaking the gunk off his hands as well as his clothes, but it did very little to get the stains out. Yukio continued to shake his arms with vigour, unaware of the large goblin lurking behind him -or so the goblin thought.

The largest, and last remaining goblin jumped out of his hiding spot, and to where Yukio stood. Its teeth's we're bare, and its arms were prepared to grasp the body of the exorcist before him, unaware that he knew he was right behind him.

Yukio raised his gun on the last second, and shoot a bullet straight through the goblins arm, without even looking. The goblin gave out a loud yelped, and fell to the ground with a soft thump. Yukio turned around, and looked down at the injured -and still alive goblin- in annoyance. Not killing the goblin had been a deliberate choice of course. He knew that goblins were incredibly protective of their king, and would come out of their hiding spot in order to protect their king, which is what he was counting on. But by the small size of the goblin -even though he was larger than a normal goblin- he knew this had to be a a very young king, and therefore have a very small nests, and seeing as no other goblin came for his aid, it was clear to him that all other goblins were dead.

The goblin tried to drag himself away from Yukio, and made a fearful growling sound as it tried to get away. If this had been Yukio's first time encountering a goblin, or fighting demons, he would have felt sorry for the poor thing, but after years of practice and conditioning, he no longer felt sorry for them; that did not mean however, that he was merciless.

Yukio raised his pistol at the goblin, and aimed it at the goblin to end the poor demon's misery, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, an odd feeling overcame him, seizing him and freezing him on the spot.

The lights in the alley flickered, and a gust of wind passed through the narrow buildings, blowing leaves and debris across the alley, and hitting Yukio, who put his arm up to protect himself from the debris.

When the wind dissipated, and the light stopped flickering, Yukio looked up at the bright full moon, and he got an overwhelming feeling of forewarning. He couldn't explain it, but he got this horrible feeling that Something was about to happen, something that would have warning signs written all over it, and Yukio felt his heart drop even though he didn't know why.

A harsh cackle like sound came from behind him, and Yukio jerked his head down to look at the goblin king. The injured demon laid on the ground, with dark blood like liquid oozing out of its arm, the thing was no doubt at death's door, and yet it was giving Yukio a look he could only describe as a mocking smile.

Annoyed, and ready to put it out of its misery, Yukio pulled the hammer of his gun back, and readied to pull the trigger. But despite holding a pistol at its head, the goblin kept giving him the same mocking expression. A moment of silence passed, which was broken by goblin king made the same obnoxious yapping sound, and Yukio grimaced. Without warning Yukio pulled the trigger and deliver the final shot. The goblin blew up, and Yukio put his gun away knowing that there were no more threats around, and yet the same feeling of unease remained.

Yukio didn't stand by and risk getting attacked by another demon, so he walked out of the alley, while his mind was deep in thought. What was that feeling he got a few moments ago? And why had the damn goblin act so strange? He had never heard of accounts of goblins laughing, or mocking an exorcist. They are the lowest form of demons –or at least one of the lowest- and don't really have the capability to from coherent thoughts, and emotions, heck even the highest level of demons have problems with emotions, so why had this goblin appear to mock him? Did the goblin know something?

Yukio sighed. Looked at him? Thinking that a goblin could have such ulterior motives, or intelligence, surely if his father saw him he would smack him just for being an idiot. He didn't know why he felt so uneasy, and he really couldn't find out, but one thing was for sure, not only was this night weird, but something was definitely up.

Just then, a gust of wind blew through the alley once more, almost knocking Yukio over with its force. Once more the feeling of forewarning returned, and Yukio took his guns out without even knowing why, or thinking about it. Yukio pointed his guns at both sides of the alley, waiting for an enemy to surface.

He gripped his pistols tightly, and he looked from one side of the alley to the other, ready to shoot if anyone so much as peaked their head into the alley. He didn't understand what was going on, but he wouldn't be caught off guard, if a demon was here to attack him, then he would meet the challenge.

Minutes went by, and no demon made an appearance. Thinking that he was just being silly, Yukio huffed and put his guns away, but the strange feeling did not go away. Yukio looked up at the moon once more, almost as if it would provide answers to his questions.

Something was definitely happening, and he didn't know what it was, but he knew it couldn't be good.

* * *

Everything was so incredibly cold; that was the first thing he noticed. His entire body was shivering. His hands were shaking, and his teeth were clattering from the cold, but the worse was his feet and knees, which were weakly planted upon a very strange, cold, hard surface he had never felt before. The next thing he noticed was that everything was too unbearably bright. His eyelids were tightly closed shut, but he could still see the unnatural brightness through them, and it still annoyed him. The third thing he noticed, was right after he took his first breath. When the air passed through his throat he almost choked. His lungs felt like sharp knives were penetrating his skin, rather than air, it was awful and painful, but he couldn't very well stop breathing, so he had to live with the pain.

Through his quick analysis, Rin knew right away that he was -indeed- no longer in Gehenna, but in the unknown world on Assiah.

Of course he knew he was in Assiah, for that was where he was sent to, but still a part of him couldn't quite believe, and comprehend the strange new world, and that was due to his physical body.

With his mind finally making the connection that he did, indeed have a body, Rin tensed up. He never had a body before, Gehenna is an immaterial world and therefore its populace was devoid of physical bodies. Rin had never understood how the material world of Assiah worked, or why so many demons were obsessed with possessing a body, and going back to Assiah. But not that he was in Assiah, and with a body of his own, he could understand the obsession a little bit more.

Testing out his new body, Rin wiggled his feet, and clenched and unclenched his hands into fists. He moved his ears around, to pick up strange waves that were called sound, and grimace from the loud humming sound, as well as others sounds he didn't understand. Everything was so strange to him, nothing made sense, and when he breathed in air through his nose, the different odours around his were overwhelming… everything was overwhelming. His mind was lagging behind, trying to make sense of what was happening, while his body was continuously experiencing new things by the second. Nothing made sense to him, all he knew was that he was in Assiah and that he now had a body of his own, but everything else was muddled. What was he here to do? Why did he leave Gehenna, his home for this unknown place? Why does everything feel so weird? Why is everything so different?

Distressed, and overwhelmed by all the sensory things he was feeling for the first time, Rin took several quick breaths, and soon regretted it. The cold air that passed through his nostrils felt like it was carving his throat into ribbons. His first instinct was of course to cough.

Following his body's natural instincts, Rin lurched forward, and quickly placed his hand on the strange surface in order to steady himself and not fall on his face as he coughed, while simultaneously taking breath in between, which only made the coughing worse.

"Is….h….h…..ok" a strange sound came from above him, and Rin quickly stopped coughing, and froze on the spot.

He didn't understand what the sound was, or what it meant, but with his attentions pulled to it, he could sense that there were other beings around him. And since he was still confused, and overwhelmed by everything, he froze on the spot. He had very limited knowledge of Assiah, and its inhabitants, so for all he knew this strange beings surrounding him could mean to hurt him.

A sudden emotion hit Rin, one that he had never felt before- fear. He was scared of the unknown, and the strange things that were surrounding him, and so Rin unconsciously unleashed his flames out of instinct, and as a tactic to protect himself from the strange world he had just been plunged into.

"G…...AWA…" The strange sound came out louder.

Once more Rin couldn't really understand, despite the voices getting louder, and numerous which only managed to unnerve, and scare him more. As retaliation to the sound, Rin spread his flames further, making everything pleasantly hot around him, but burning what was around him. Why was he here? What is going on? Why did no one warn him that this is how it would be to come to Assiah? Why is everything so different?

Rin felt another strange feeling bubbling up inside him, which he could only describe as frustration, and anger, something he had rarely ever experienced. And through his anger, the flames spread and raged on, as they bid his command to protect him by burning everything that crosses their path, and Rin allowed it. He didn't care of what he would hurt, or what he would burn, or who he could kill. All he could think is that it was too damn cold, and everything felt strange!

Rin gritted his teeth, and bared his fangs at the floor no longer able to take the sensory overload he was feeling. He wanted to make everything stop, but no matter how hot his flames got, it did nothing to alleviate him, and yet the flames persisted.

Rin formed his hands into fists, and the flames grew hotter. He honestly didn't know what he was trying to achieve, all he knew was that he that he wanted to stop everything that was going on around him.

Rin unclenched his hands, and felt his flames build up inside his body, ready to be released, and destroy everything around him.

Moment by moment, the flames built up inside him, and the sound around him got louder, and louder, sounding more desperate. Rin took a deep breath, and he almost reeled his head back from the awful stench. The smell of fear, and desperation surrounded everything around him, and he was sure it was not coming from him. He didn't know where it was coming from at first, but after a few moments he realized that the fear must be coming from the being around him. For a moment, Rin felt his flame's intensity lower, but then they came back to full force when he heard a particularly high pitch sound.

Rin furrowed his brows, and bared his fangs, he was ready to unleash his flames and make everything stop, but just when he was about to send out his flames into an explosion, and particular sound stopped him.

"Rin." A smooth, strangely familiar, and warming voice penetrated his ears, and though it wasn't as loud as everything going on around him, Rin could hear it clearly, as if it was the only sound around him.

Rin's eyelids flew open, and as if someone had put a snuffer on his flames. The hot, blue flames quickly dissipated in a huff, leaving everything burnt to a crisp, and creating thick smoke around him.

It took him a few seconds to regain himself, but once he did his eyes slowly lifted up from the ground, and he looked up. As is had been when he had his eyes closed, everything was too bright and his eyes were slow to focus and make sense of what he was seeing, but once his eyes focused he could see the silhouette of a person standing before him.

Rin kept staring at the figure ahead unsure as to what, or who it was, but for some reason he didn't feel afraid, and he didn't feel fear from the being standing over him.

After a little while of just staring, the smoke began to dissipate and soon he was able to see the figure standing in front of him.

A person stood in front of him, who was quite tall, in fact Rin had to raise his head higher in order to look at the person's face. The first thing his eyes landed on was the neatly combed, slicked back blond hair that spiked up at the back. From there, his eyes traced their way down, and he was met with a set of bright green eyes that seemed to pop out, due to the long eyelashes it had around them. Rin's eyes proceeded to moved down to look at the person's attire. The person wore a strange teal, double breasted suit, which had a bunch of shiny objects pinned to his left breast, which Rin had no idea what they were, but knew were important. The attire's strange colours attracted his attention, but what really caught his attention was the long red cape, that was flowing gently behind. Rin's eyes followed the hem of the cape, mesmerized by it, until his eyes came across a delicate, blond tail that swished about from side to side softly.

Rin's eyes drew back and he looked at the person's complete body. The first impression he got, was that the person easily bore an image of power, and importance and that he had an air of command, and strong imposition about him. But despite the commanding image brought forth by his attire, and body, Rin could sense something else.

Rin could smell sickness oozing from the body of the person, a sickness so great that it made him cringe, and gave him the strange need to move away, which he controlled. Rin could sense there was more to the person than sickness, and indeed there was, and it was incredibly clear to see. Underneath all that sickness was power, a power so great that it would make the fiercest and most powerful demons cower away in fear. A power which could command legions of demons in Gehenna. A power Rin knew all too well.

Of course Rin knew right away that this had to be Lucifer, his oldest brother, and the most powerful of all the eight demon kings.

At his realization, Rin's eyes instantly snapped up, and met his brother's sharp green eyes, with his own blue ones. When his eyes settled on Lucifer's, his first reaction was to look somewhere else, and scurry away from the second most powerful demon in Gehenna -apart from their father of course- but he managed to stop himself. He knew his brother -while he was powerful, and rightfully frightening due to his immense powers to any demon- he knew Lucifer wouldn't hurt him, they were brother after all and Rin had never in his life seen his eldest brother hurt any of their sibling before, even those that fell out of line. But above all else, Rin knew he wouldn't hurt him because they were on the same side, and because he didn't sense any intent to hurt him. Still, that didn't prevent him from wrapping his tail around his body in a submissive, and almost fearful manner.

Rin's eyes stayed glued to Lucifer's for quite a while, neither of them looking away, even after what felt like a minute went by.

Lucifer's eyes were piercing, and just as imposing and intense as power was, which made it hard for Rin to keep eye contact any longer. Unable to take the piercing eyes any longer, Rin was the first to crack, and he moved his gaze to another part of the room.

Rin's eyes kept staring at a boring wall behind Lucifer, until he felt the need to communicate with his brother. Rin opened his mouth instinctively knowing that was how he could communicate, but no sound came out. It was in that awkward moment that Rin realized that he didn't know how to communicate in this form, and world, so what came out of his mouth were incomprehensible gargle.

Rin quickly closed his mouth shut, and he felt a strange burning feeling on his cheeks that he was sure weren't caused by the flames. Ashamed and embarrassed that he couldn't communicate, he looked away from the wall, and looked at the ground instead, feeling a bit useless.

If he couldn't communicate, or overall function in this world, then what good was he? He thought that the transition to Assiah would be easier for him than any other demon, because he was originally from Assiah, but he had clearly been mistaken. Having spent fourteen years in Gehenna, and coming to Assiah he felt like he had been reborn, and what good was that to anybody? He felt like he was a child who had to learn everything again, and that made him feel hopeless.

Rin gritted his teeth, and formed his hands into fists once more, but before he could get frustrated again, he heard a voice in his head, a voice he knew well. "Do not despair, I will help you."

Rin's head jerked up, and he looked at Lucifer once more. His brother's words didn't really bring him comfort, but there was something in those eyes, something that screamed determination… something that told him, things were about to change.

* * *

Author's notes: There's a lot of things happening in this chapter, and not a hell lot of context, so if you're a little bit confused don't worry, things will start to make sense soon!

Now as for Rin, there's a lot of emotions coming from Rin here, and his emotions are all over the place, but honestly if you were taken from an immaterial world into a material world, wouldn't you feel overwhelmed? So yes, Rin has a long way to go in regards to learning the ropes, but that doesn't mean it will last for long, he'll be up and ready to get the story started in no time.

Now as for dialogue, there will be a lot more dialogue on the next chapters, i just wanted to limit dialogue on this chapter, and simply show the story visually for now.

So hope you liked this chapter, please review and see you next chapter :)


	2. Chapter 2: A new mission

Chapter 2

A new mission

* * *

The Illuminati organization is the most powerful and dangerous demon/exorcist organization in the world, and about the only one that could go toe to toe with True cross. Knowing all this, and preparing himself for months, one would think that he'd be prepared to serve said organization, but boy was he wrong.

As the youngest son of Yaozo Shima, and the one chosen by Mephisto to spy on the Illuminati, Renzo's thought he had what it took to be a part of the Illuminati, but now that he was deep in the lion's den, he was starting to regret his decision. The Illuminati just wasn't what he had expected, sure he knew they were far from compassionate, more or less so than True cross at least, and that they had the one goal to unite Gehenna with Assiah, but still. He had no idea that being part of the Illuminati would be so hard, and it was all due to its members.

Mostly, he had no problems with the lowered ranked members, but the higher ranked were a different story, and it all started with Michael. Just looking at Michael made him feel chills run up his back, and Homare scared him even more with her uncaring, and unnatural disposition she looked at everything. But what was worse were the demons.

As a son of an exorcist family, he knew of the existence of demons since he could remember. In fact he could summon Yamanaka since childhood, so any signs of demons or appearances didn't faze him, but now that all changed. Before coming to the Illuminati Mephisto briefed him in on the organization, and its members, so he knew that their leader is Lucifer, the strongest demon king, and the most influential demon in Gehenna. He also, knew that they had other demons in their ranks.

Of course, Renzo had made his expectations then and there, and he thought Lucifer would be more or less like his younger brother, but after seeing him for the first time he was clearly wrong in his expectations. Lucifer was nothing like Mephisto. In fact two brother couldn't be more different from one another than Mephisto and Lucifer were, and he knew all this from just watching the oldest demon king from afar. It wasn't that hard to make out Lucifer's personality, so he knew right away that he was not a demon, any human or demon should mess with.

Just thinking about the scary light king made his spine shiver. Yea, that demon was definitely someone he didn't want to mess with.

But apart for Lucifer the other demons weren't so bad. Egyn was definitely his favourite with how awkward and shy he was, he thought it was funny seeing one of the demon kings so scared of his own shadow. With demons like Egyn, Renzo wonder why his family thought demons are so ferocious, but then he looks at the other resident demon and he starts to begin to understand.

It was during his first week upon the Dominus Liminis ship that he met the second most powerful demon of the organization- Rin.

It had started as one of those normal days. He woke up, trained with the troops, had his food, and reported to Homare who insisted that he run errands for her, but he knew she just wanted to keep an eye on him. Usually the errands she sent him to were simple paperwork duties, but that day had been different. Homare was called by one of the big baddies, who asked her that she needed to go somewhere. Caught unaware, Homare ordered him to go to the training facilities reserved for the more dangerous members of the Illuminati, to fetch Rin. Renzo had no problems with those orders, because he had no idea who Rin was, Mephisto didn't tell him about annoyed called Rin, and Mephisto had made sure to tell him the name of every dangerous and important member of Illuminati. It was that day that Renzo realized that Mephisto must have been messing him, because there was no way the clown didn't know about a demon such as Rin.

So, willfully unaware, Renzo happily hopped over to where the training facility was located, and entered it like it was nothing. What happened next scared him for life.

The first thing he saw upon entering the room, was a fricking wall of blue flames coming his way! That day he was grateful for all the training he received from his family, because if he hadn't had good reflexes he would have been burnt to a crisp.

And so, as fast as he could, and the fastest he had ever been in his life, Renzo brought up his K'rik and miraculously managed to deflect the flames. When he was out of danger, he remembered how shocked he had been, but it was long lived seeing as the flames returned and Shima had to force himself to jump away from the line of fire.

As he had jumped away, the flames licked his cheek, before he had landed on his knees. When he was on the floor, a hundred different thoughts came to his mind. The most prominent thought was: Did they find out he is a spy? That would make no sense, they already knew he is a double agent, Mephisto made sure they knew because otherwise Lucifer would be able to look right through him and kill him where he stood.

But in the end it didn't really matter if this was a trap or not, seeing as he knew whose flames those were, and he knew he had very few chances of living. And so he remembered how he knelt there waiting for death to come, but after waiting for a long while, and nothing happened Renzo wondered what had stopped the demon?

Curious, Renzo had lifted his head up and looked at his perpetrator. The first thing he noticed was that the demon was young –well around his age anyways- but he was definitely not nearly around the age of Lucifer or Mephisto which confused him. Next thing he noticed was his uncommon white hair, which strangely enough seemed to be natural on him. Third thing he noticed was that he had a white tail -a dead giveaway that he is a demon, as if the demonic aura he was emanating wasn't enough. And finally, the last thing he noticed was that the demon had blue flames for horns, flames which were surrounding various places of his body, mainly his fists.

After Renzo's first glance at Rin, he had been unsure and not really knowing as to what to think of the strange blue flamed demon. Of course Renzo had thought Rin had been Satan due to his blue flames, but after Rin miraculously lost interest on him, Renzo found out from Homare later that day that the Rin is Satan's son, and Lucifer's youngest brother, meaning that he had great power up his sleeves. Of course he had wanted to ask more so that he could tell Mephisto, but Homare simply told him that they didn't trust him enough to tell him more on specific members of the organization so Renzo left it at that… he didn't really want to get on Homare's bad side.

So after that day, Renzo had rarely seen Rin around the ship, and when he did he was either accompanied by someone else –Homare mostly- or he was hiding all the way up in the ceiling pipes, looking down at everyone with curiosity, in fact he found out he was a quite curious individual. Every time they so much as made a strange sound, or did something new, Rin would be there to watch intently, almost as if he was learning. At first he thought Rin was just keeping an eye on them, but his curious gaze was anything but watchful. And though he wasn't really disturbing anyone, Renzo just wished he wouldn't look at them that way. If it had been anyone else, Renzo wouldn't have minded, but the curious way Rin was looking at them was not innocent, and cute, but terrifying and morbid. He told a few of his new –he would call them quittance- the fact that Rin scared him, as a way to learn what the Illuminati's thoughts were on the demon. Renzo thought they would fear Rin too, or even have thoughts about him, but all they said was to ignore him and to keep his nose out of things that could get him in trouble. After that revelation Renzo knew, that the members of the Illuminati are clearly devoted to their cause.

Before joining the Illuminati, he barely knew anything about the organization, and what he knew is what his family told him about them which basically was: The Illuminati is an organization steeped with evil, and controlled by demons, and that their end goal is to exterminate all humans. At first he believed that to some extent, but now he knew things were more complicated than he thought.

The Illuminati are not the purely evil organization his family told him they are, and they are certainly not solely controlled by demons –although their leader is a demon- but if he thought about it their not much different from True cross, who is controlled by Mephisto from the shadows. And when he came about this revelation he wasn't at all surprised that his family were wrong, but it did disappoint him –as if he could be more disappointed.

It would be a shock for anyone who knew him, that he hated his family, hated their high expectations of him, as well as his friends ambitions to become exorcist, and if it weren't for his conscious and his need to do what's right -to some extent- he would have either run away from it all, or truly joined the Illuminati. Joining the Illuminati being the craziest option of the two, but for some reason the most appealing. He didn't understand his family's obsession of True cross, and their more-holy-than-thou views on everything. As far as he saw it, True cross is just as bad as the Illuminati, and they definitely have their share of atrocious deeds, and monsters. The only difference between either of them is that –with True cross- their monsters are wolves in sheep's clothing, whereas the Illuminati proudly show that they're wolves in a field full of sheep. He suspected that this was the reason why he was having trouble accepting the higher ranked members of the Illuminati, because he had never seen anyone so blatantly do the things they do without remorse, or even pretending to care. But still, despite his views of either organization he still had to follow orders; weather that came from Mephisto, or Lucifer he will stay on the dividing line and play for both teams as long as he can. It was much easier, and fun this way anyways.

* * *

Rin slashed the Seraphim Demon across its body, cutting it in half, but of course only momentarily. The demon that was mostly made up of light, pulled itself together in matter of seconds and flew away from Rin, encouraging him to chase after him, and Rin obliged.

This was his training, chasing after a Seraphim which is one of Lucifer's kin who he had called to help Rin train his agility, and reflexes, as well as help him exercise. It had been a brilliant plan, as well as a smart way to save funds on providing Rin with immobile practice dummies, and that was because the Seraphim is a demon that is not easily killed. So no matter how many times Rin slashes it in half, it would just put itself together again, and fly away so that Rin could chase after it once more. It was a tedious, and boring way to practice, but after he almost killed one of the humans from the Illuminati -who was three times larger than him- Rin was left with no other option but to practice against the Seraphim, at least until he could control his strength which he was having problems with.

It has been a year since he first set foot in Assiah, and he was still struggling with acclimating, as well as getting used to this new world he had been plunged into, not to mention his body. It had been incredibly difficult at first, and quite frustrating for everyone. Rin had to relearn everything, from how to speak, walk, even to how to eat. Lucifer had been there for him, as he had promised, and helped him get through the first few months by explaining everything to him, and teaching him the language of humans, but after months of teaching him, and looking after him, Lucifer was left weakened and he could no longer teach him, not when he was bedridden. This left Rin at the hands of the Illuminati's elite -more specifically of Michael Gendoin, Homare Todo, Lund, and Storm.

Every one of said humans had a different responsibility, and different things to teach him. Michael -his least favourite of them all due to his strange obsession with his brother, as well as his strange behaviour- he was entrusted with teaching him about the facility, and show him the scientific aspects of the organization. Rin didn't overall care about the complicated, topic of science when it came to their cause, but he had very little choice. So in order to tolerate Michael's lesson, Rin simply spaced out, and sometimes even outright leaving when the scientist wasn't looking. Of course that only proved to anger Michael, and get him to run to Homare and complain to her about Rin, which annoyed him, and made him hate the man even more, and made him wonder if he could get away with killing him.

But despite his hate for Michael, that didn't mean he felt the same way about everyone else. Homare Todo was about one of the only few humans he actually liked. As the captain of Phosphorus -Lucifer's bodyguard- she was charged with teaching him about the military aspect of the organization, which Rin found immensely more interesting than science. He liked learning about the different weapons the Illuminati had, as well as learning about battle tactics, and strategy. He wasn't much of a thinker -that much he knew- but he enjoyed the challenges Homare gave him. She would always present him with different scenarios and tell him to figure out the best course of action, whether it be in a fight, spying, or even in everyday life problems, Homare challenges him to think, and Rin enjoyed it. Of course there was more to it than that. Homare also, have him duties around the ship like, helping the drill sergeant, to helping out with simple paperwork. It wasn't always fun of course, but Homare made sure he was never bored, or seating on his ass for very long.

As for Lund and Storm- he had mixed feelings about them. He definitely didn't hate them like he did Michael, but he didn't like them like he did Homare, they were just there really. They were in charge of training Rin, and teaching him how to fight both humans, and demons. In short they were glorified PE teacher, not that he knew what that meant, but that's what he heard everyone say. He didn't really think they were as useless as most saw them as, they were -after all- the only ones who dared practice, and sometimes fight him. The sessions weren't very long, and he never got to go full out when fighting them, but it was better than chasing after a Seraphim across the training room looking like a complete idiot.

But despite his likes and dislikes of humans, he found them fascinating, and fun to observe. And though he tried to learn as much about them, there was still a lot to learn, and yet he was still leagues better than he had been a year ago, but that didn't mean that he didn't face new challenges every day.

He still made a few rare mistakes when he spoke in the language of humans, and he still got annoyed and frustrated by loud sounds, and strong smells, and he was still hopelessly confused by human behaviour. But what was still confusing him more than anything was emotions. For some reason he couldn't get the hang of them, and couldn't really understand why humans felt emotions so strongly. Sure demons felt emotions, otherwise nothing would drive them to do anything, but they didn't feel them the same way that humans do, and they certainly didn't feel them as strongly. At first he didn't really paid emotions any attentions, but then an idiotic pink haired human decided to intrude on his training, and that's when he first saw what emotions do to humans.

When he was ready to kill the pinked hair idiot -he now knew as Renzo Shima- a few months back, he felt the overwhelming emotion of fear seep from him, and that stopped him from killing him. He hadn't stopped because he felt sorry for the idiot, but because he had been intrigued by his reaction, and emotions, which is why he let him leave. After all Lucifer would have chastised him, and he also, felt like he owed it to Renzo for showing him what fear looked it.

After witnessing fear, he wanted to see what other emotions did to humans. Of course he got to see anger plenty of times, mostly in Michael who would easily get angry at him, and his subordinates for being useless –or so he would say. But apart from anger and fear he didn't get to see what other emotions looked like, and he wanted to find out, and that's why he took that as a personal challenge of his.

But apart from all the human challenges he was facing, thankfully none of those challenges involved his powers, which was a huge relief for everyone, seeing as he could blow the ship up if he got too angry. No, the flames were a not problem, because he had trained and practiced his flames until he didn't know anything else when he was in Gehenna. And no one would expect any less, seeing as the one that taught him everything he knows about his powers, was his father.

Satan, or what most demons called in Gehenna: the god of demon, was definitely not someone anyone would want as a teacher, nor would he deem anyone worthy enough to teach, but Rin had been an exception. Rin is the son of Satan, and not just his son, but the only one that inherited the blue flames which put him in a pedestal far higher than any demon, even going as far as some of the demon kings. For this reason Satan took him in as his pupil and taught him everything he knows now. Of course there were still a few pieces of knowledge his father kept from him, but he was convinced he knew almost anything he had to know about the blue flames, but the cost he paid for such knowledge was high.

Rin shook his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts, not wanting to think of the past. Instead of thinking about Satan, Rin lunged towards the Seraphim with his katana raised high above his head. Just when he was in range, Rin brought the katana down with expertise, and as quickly as he could, but despite his speed and accuracy the Seraphim quickly flew out of reach and Rin's katana sliced through the air. Rin clenched his teeth, and looked to where the Seraphim had gone. The damn low level demon was hovering in the air facing him, in a mocking manner, and Rin growled at it.

He hated this form of training, even though Homare insisted it helped him with training speed, and agility. Rin didn't agree with her at all, and wished for a greater challenge than a damn Seraphim, but Rin knew that wasn't possible. Any human would not last very long training with him, even Storm and Lund couldn't practice with him very long, and they were two of the most powerful members of Phosphorus. This left him with the only option of training with denons, but even then there weren't many who could prove a challenge to him, in fact there was only one who would be the ultimate challenge, and he was aboard the ship.

Lucifer was the only one that could stand toe to toe with Rin, and for that reason he longed to practice with him. After all, he used to practice with him back in Gehenna, but not in Assiah, seeing as Assiah is a different story. His brother's body is far too weak in this world, and he was far too sick and weak to parry even one blow from him, much less fight him. Of course Lucifer could blow him to smithereens if he really wanted to, but any fight or even any tasks that were physically demanding we're out of the questions. And though he felt sorry, and strange to see his brother so weak, seeing Lucifer unable to fight him only made him want to fight him even more. Of course, he had fought Lucifer before, but only with his powers. And now that he had a new body, and found a new way to fight, he wanted to tests his skills and strength, but despite what he wanted, Lucifer could not be his opponent. This left Rin with Egyn, the king of water and one of his brothers. Unfortunately, he knew without even having to ask Egyn, that he would never agree to spar him. Egyn is after all not a fighter, and definitely not one to seek conflict, and unlike Lucifer –whose weakness only manifested in Assiah- Egyn carried this weakness from Gehenna. Egyn was just very shy, and a coward, and if it weren't for his great power he would be the last of the demon kings. Due to all these reasons, he had to make do with what he had.

Frustrated and angry that he had to keep practicing with the Seraphim, Rin's grip on his katana tightened and he lunged to the low level demon once more, while the Seraphim flew as fast as possible away from him, not wanting to be on the end of that anger. The Seraphim flew across the training ground, with a very annoyed Rin following closely behind with his katana raised up high almost comically.

Rim chased after the Seraphim for a few more minutes, and just when he was feeling the slight hint of exhaustion, the Seraphim made the wrong turn and Rin smiled when he caught up to it. Rin raised his katana, and prepared to slash the demon in half this time around. Rin watched the Seraphim, and smiled when the low level demon realized that he couldn't fly away from this one. Accepting its fate, the Seraphim just hovered there waiting to be slash in half for the hundredth time this day. However, the slash never came.

Just when Rin was bringing his katana down, he felt and smelled a familiar human just outside the door, which caused him to lose focus for a moment, and when the door flew open, he completely lost focus and the Seraphim flew away from him.

Rin growled and snapped his head back to look at the culprit. Renzo Shima, was standing by the door of his personal training room, with as much confidence as he could muster, even though Rin could smell the familiar fear on him.

"This better be good Shima, or I'll replace you for the Seraphim." Rin growled at him.

Renzo grinned, which Rin knew it was forced. "I think that would be a bad idea. You can't even catch the Seraphim, you won't be able to catch me in a million years!" He joked, and Rin rolled his eyes.

Knowing that his practice was finished, Rin sheath his Katana, and walked towards Shima, while the Seraphim followed closely behind, knowing that practice was over.

"Stop joking around, and tell me the message." He commanded.

Shima continued to smile, even after Rin was right in front of him, almost threateningly. Shima knew him of course, and he knew he would never hurt him, so he acted with confidence, which annoyed him.

"Nothing really, just that captain Homare, and commander Lucifer demand your presence at the usual location. "

Rin arched his brow, intrigued. It was rare for his brother to demand his presence, and much less alongside Homare.

"Did they tell you why?"

"Nah, as if I was important enough to know such things, but that doesn't mean I don't know anything. I did manage to overhear them say something about a new plan that involved you, so I think they'll finally let you go out into the open. Either that, or they found out about what destroyed Michael's lavatory"

Rin nodded, and he couldn't help but grin a little. He had been waiting so long to be given a mission of his own, and to get out of this damn ship, and start doing what he was sent here to do. Not for one second did he worried of the alternative.

Shima groaned, and shook his head. "Don't grin like that, it makes me uncomfortable, in fact don't grin or smile at all, it makes you look like a psychopath ready to kill your next victim."

Rin wiped his smile from his lips, and huffed.

"Whatever. Let's just go before Homare choses to come get us herself."

Shima nodded, and followed him out of the room with a smile still plastered on his lips.

Both of them walked down the hallways of the ships, passing by a few patrols, and scientists making their way to different labs, occasionally they saw a few demons here and there, mostly low level ones. The Dominus Liminis -the ship- was definitely filled with different species of demons, and different types of humans who all lived and worked together for a greater cause, and though they were all different, they all had something In common, and that's how they stared at Rin as he passed by. Of course they all knew he is the son of Satan, and the only one to inherit the blue flames, which is why they all stared. Even the demons who were more used to it, stared at Rin as he passed by. And though it was annoying, Rin didn't mind so much, so long as they kept their distance, and kept to themselves. Shima on the other hand thoughts it was funny, and made fun of him sometimes, and if it had been anyone else Rin would have killed him long ago for it.

Rin looked at Shima, who was still grinning like an idiot, and walking with confidence across the ship, even though he was the youngest exorcist in their midst.

In the last year Rin had met countless members of the Illuminati, and most of them were of greater caliber than Shima, but none of them left a lasting impression on him, nor did they manage to or were crazy enough to befriend him. Shima was the only one out of hundredths who actually managed to leave an impression, and to befriend him, which he was thankful for, but also annoyed that he got stuck with the idiotic pink head. And even though Shima was the closest thing he would ever have for a friend, they weren't always so.

After he had almost killed him, he had kept a watchful eye on the pink haired idiot, not really knowing why. The days following that, Homare began to send Shima to give him messages from her -as if she was too busy to give him the messages herself. Rin knew that sending Shima was a ploy to get them to interact with one another, and befriend each other, and though he didn't know what her plan was, he found himself doing exactly what she intended. At first he had refused to befriend Shima, just for the fact that Homare wanted just that, but after a few weeks he began to talk to the pinked Haired idiot, and in no time befriend him, which was something he was still annoyed at.

"If you stop reminiscence on the good old days, we might just make it on time before the commander choose to fry us both to crisp, or worse. Before the captain chooses us as the next cleaning crew." Shima teased with the same grin.

Rin huffed, and looked ahead of them annoyed, but not saying anything to Shima as they picked up the pace. In matter of seconds they were in front of the scary, imposing door that led to Lucifer's personal quarters.

Rin and Shima stayed in front of the door just staring at it, as if waiting for the door to open up and devour them whole. Neither one of them wanted to knock on the door, even though they've both been inside before, and the reason was because they both got a morbid feeling they were in trouble somehow.

"So, you gonna knock or what?" Shima asked not looking away from the door.

"Why not you?"

Shima finally turned away from the door, and grinned at him once more, but this time it was clearly forced.

"Because he's your brother, and less likely to kill you for it. So…"

Rin grimaced, and wanted to argue, but he had to admit that Shima did have a point.

"You don't think someone told him about the incident in Michael's laboratory, do you?" Asked Rin unsure.

Shima shrugged, and looked at the door. "Only one way to find out isn't there?"

Rin nodded and knocked on the door. He didn't knock particularly hard, but the sound of his knock reverberated across the hall, standing everything on attention, even though there wasn't anyone around his hallway, but the Phosphorus guards.

Rin and Shima waited patiently, and staring intently at the door until they heard the familiar jingle of the knobs, and the large door swung open, revealing a dark room that only had a small light in the corner as a source of light. As they looked inside, Shima couldn't see much, but Rin could clearly see the large bed in the middle, and the silhouette of his brother propped up on his bed, with the only thing he could see of him was his sharp green eyes looking straight at him.

Rin suppressed a shuddered and slowly walked inside the dark room, with Shima following closely behind. As they made their way inside the room, Rin looked around and his eyes quickly landed on Homare who was seating on a lavish armchair by the lamp, and looking at them both with an unreadable expression.

Rin looked away from Homare, and looked ahead instead, making sure not to meet Lucifer's eyes. When both he and Shima were fully inside the room, the door softly closed shut. For a few seconds no one in the room spoke, and Rin could feel every single gaze upon him, which made him feel antsy.

After what felt like minutes, Homare choose to speak up. "How was your training going Rin?" She asked none calmly.

"Boring as always. You know the Seraphim is a poor excuse for a training partner, and how useless I think training with such a low level demon is." Rin responded, while looking at Homare.

His response didn't garner any emotions from her, as he suspect it wouldn't, Homare just kept looking at him the same stoic way she looked at everything.

"You know we can't provide you with a different training partner, not as long as we're airborne and therefore risking the wellbeing of the ship, and the crew if you were to go 'full out' as you say."

Rin huffed, and crossed his arms defiantly. "Well then its simple isn't it? Just send me to the surface, and I'll make sure to keep all fighting away from your f-"

"What Rin is trying to say is that he likes and appreciates the training that you have graciously given him." Shima exclaimed, interrupting Rin before he could say anything that would get them in trouble.

A moment of silence passed, and Homare looked from Rin to Shima with an arched brow. "Is that so?" She drawled.

Rin opened his mouth, and Shima nudged him and Rin growled silently at him. "For now anyways." He gritty out, and Homare nodded. He may dislike the training, but he disliked being on Homare's bad side more.

"I thought as much." She said amusedly.

Rin wanted to growl at her, but Shima nudged him once more, and so he simply stood by and watched as Homare stood up from her armchair and walked towards them.

"As I'm sure you suspect, we didn't asks you to come here to talk about your training Rin." She folded her arms behind her back, and adopted a regal posture.

"Then why did you ask us to come here?" He asked, looking at her in the eyes, and expecting her to answer, but this time she was not the one to answer.

"A new term is about to begin at the True cross academy." Lucifer declared, his voice sounding a little bit more raspy than usual.

As Lucifer gave out his answer -which wasn't much of an answer-Rin couldn't help but be slightly surprise, and confused.

"What does this have to do with me?" He asked curious, while shifting his eyes towards Lucifer.

To answer his question Lucifer opened his mouth, but only a soft rasping sound came out, followed by cough.

Rin grimaced slightly, still not used to seeing the most influential demon in Gehenna so weak.

Like him, everyone in the room waited for Lucifer to stop coughing, and when that moment finally came, Homare was the one to jump in.

"The reason why we this has anything to do with you is because we want to register you for the exorcist school." Homare said simply.

A moment of silence followed, as everyone in the room stood quietly absorbing the piece of information she just unload on them, and Rin kept staring at her confused. It was a little while longer that the information clicked in, and he looked at Homare with s horrified expression.

"What?!" He practically screamed. "You want me to join True cross? W- What for- I mean how do you even expect me to just waltz in there and join the exorcist class? Are you insane? Not to mention that they would never accept me, Mephisto will easily find out who I am, as well as the Vatican. And most important of all, I do not want to join True cross, much less learn to be an exorcist! I mean, who even came up with such a dumb-"

"Rin." Lucifer warned, and Rin looked at him only to look away and quickly shut his mouth, and glower at the floor like a scolded child.

Homare sighed, and everyone looked back at her. "The person that came up with such a dumb plan would be me, and I knew that you wouldn't take well to the plan, and that you would fight it every step of the way."

Rin bared his fangs, and glared at her. "Then why even bring it up, if you knew I wouldn't agree."

Homare raised her head, and looked down at Rin even though she was smaller than him. "Because it's not about you agreeing with the plan, it's about you following orders." She declared, and Rin huffed and glowered at Homare instead, who looked at him unfazed.

"It has been a year since you first set foot in Assiah, and though you have been making remarkable progress, we believe that you need to start taking a bigger role in this organization. After all, Satan did not put Gehenna on its axis to get you here, just so you could help with a few drills, and chase a Seraphim all day." She paused for a second, then continued again. "It's time that you finally join the Illuminati, and contribute to what we're trying to achieve."

Once more, silence followed, and Rin was getting more frustrated by the second, as he gritted his teeth in anger. "And I'll join the Illuminati by joining True cross? How does that even make sense?"

Homare opened her mouth, but before she could say anything Lucifer spoke up, silencing everyone.

"Because you won't be joining them, not truly. You'll be a spy for both True cross and the Illuminati, or more specifically; a spy for Mephisto and I."

Rin's anger and frustration drained slightly, and he jerked his head up to look at Lucifer once more, with a confused look on his face.

"You want me to be a double agent?"

"That is correct."

Rin guffawed and looked at Homare, and Shima to see if this was some sort of joke, but when they both looked at him with complete seriousness -even Shima- Rin knew that this was no joke, and it confused him greatly.

"Bu- but why? I'm not even good at the whole spying thing! I'm far too conspicuous and anyone will be able to figure out I'm spy, especially Mephisto! So why?"

Lucifer pushed himself up from his bed, so that the light shun on him and Rin could get a better view of him. As always Lucifer's appearance was more or less the usual, except this time he didn't have various objects sticking out of his body, and he looked less pale than usual. Clearly his brother has been feeling better lately, seeing as he didn't need the usual life support that he was hooked up to most of the time.

"The reason why, is because I know our brother better than anyone of our sibling, and he knows me just as well too." Lucifer paused to make a whizzing sound. "I know that by giving you to him I will be appeasing his curiosity, and his me- meddling with the Illuminati. And above all else, I know that no matter what I do, h-he will try to have you in his grasp one way or another, w- which is why I am doing this." Lucifer explained, and Rin looked straight at him, not once looking away from his brother.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes slightly at him. "I trust you Rin, but not fully, at least not yet, and the Illuminati less so" he rasped. "The only way you can gain my unconditional trust, is by showing me how dedicated you are to the Illuminati, and the only way to do that is by throwing you into Mephisto's grasp. Only by seeing both sides of this war, and choosing the Illuminati will I truly trust you." Lucifer declared.

More silence followed, and Rin could hear blood rushing to his head, as he look at his brother in shock. He had come all the way from Gehenna, went through utter hell the last fourteen years, and showed nothing but loyalty to Lucifer and their father, and yet he didn't trust him? It made no sense to him, it was utterly preposterous, and he was so shocked that he suspected that he heard his brother wrong. There was just no way he heard right.

Homare coughed, and Rin snapped out of his thoughts, and looked at her still shocked.

"Our commander is correct. We cannot truly trust you until you choose the Illuminati out of your own volition, and besides you won't be alone. Shima will also, join True cross as a double agent, and keep tabs on you as well as help you out with keeping your cover."

Rin's brows shoot up, and looked at Renzo who smiled and waved at him. This whole situation didn't make any sense. The Illuminati didn't trust him, and now he's stuck with the organization's biggest idiot!

Rin shook his head, hoping that maybe he hit himself while training, but when nothing happened, he looked at Homare indignantly.

"So basically he's my nanny?"

"Hey! It's a more glamorous job than just a simple nanny!"

Rin growled, and Shima shut his mouth, but kept grinning at him. And though he was angry and confused at the situation, he was a little glad deep inside that at least Shima will be going with him, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Anyways, the plan has already been set into motion, and you'll be heading to True cross tomorrow morning to speak to Mephisto."

Rin looked back to Homare, and growled. "So I don't have a choice on this matter?"

Homare shook her head. "I don't believe you do, that is if you're serious about being part of the Illuminati."

Once more, Rin growled and bared his fangs, but he didn't dare oppose the plan, or Lucifer for that matter. So he just stood his ground, and hoped that following orders was the right call.

"If you do this Rin, and you don't fail, we will be able to put our true plans in motion." Lucifer declared, and Rin could do nothing more than nod.

* * *

Author's notes: a bit of a longer chapter, and quite a bit of explanation, as well as a big time jump, but I thought it was all necessary for the story.

So now the story has finally begun to move along, and now you know where I'm heading with this.

Now as for a few questions you guys had, I choose to answer them here instead of messaging one by one, so bear with me here.

Is Rin Yukio's brother? yes he is, I mean sure they didn't grow up together but that doesn't mean they're not twin brothers.

Does Rin have his body? Yes he does, but he has his latest demon appearance from the manga. I will go over how he got his body back, but that'll be later on. Also, his powers were not sealed so the Katana he uses is not the Kurikara.

Will Rin meet Shiro, and Yukio? Well after this chapter I can safely say yes he will, and that will be really interesting, but I won't say much about it. I guess you guys will have to wait, and read.

So that is all for now, so I hope you like this chapter, and if you have any questions please ask and I'll answer them next chapter.

So hope to see you guy's next chapter, and pleaser review!


	3. Chapter 3: The clown king

Chapter 3

The clown king

* * *

Rin was aboard something called a car, which was something with four wheels and places for people to seat. Overall, Rin thought it was a strange ship compared to the one he had to come know, but it wasn't bad either. The 'car' itself was being driven by and older member of the Illuminati, he had never met before. The old man -though he was a demon- was weirder than anyone he had ever met. The old demon had short brown hair, with slightly pointed ears that were not as pronounced as his, and those of his siblings. He also, had a long beard that was so long that it covered his sharp teeth when he spoke, and only glinted slightly when the light hit his mouth just at the right angle. The old demon also, wore a very expensive and fine suit, and on his neck there stood a necktie, and on his chest he had the Illuminati symbol pinned on his suit.

Overall the demon looked unlike any demon he had ever seen. He definitely had the overall appearance of a high level demon, and could perhaps pass off as a demon king to humans, but to another demon he was strange. The old demon was just too human like, and even the way he carried himself was very human like, which both disgusted him, and confused him. When he met the old looking demon, and before he departed, he expressed how strange the demon was to Egyn who had come on Lucifer's behalf to see him go off on his first mission. When Egyn heard his thoughts on the old demon, his brother gave him a piece of advice and told him that in his time with True cross he'll come across demons very similar to the demon Beleth –which was the demon's name- and that he'll have to get used to it, and be unfazed by it if he wanted his mission to succeed. For a demon that was scared of his own shadow, Egyn could sometimes surprise him with his intelligence which was his only redeeming quality.

The car ride itself had started a few hours ago, but to Rin it felt like minutes. He was usually not the one to phase out while doing nothing, but in this case there were just too many things on his mind for him not to think. The last couple of hours in the car he spent it thinking about his current situation, and what he was about to face. The day before he had been less than acceptant of his fate, and he had practically burnt his room to a crisp out of anger. But now that he was in the car, and on his way to True cross, everything started to become real. He knew he had no other choice but to accept his fate even though he disliked it with a passion. He knew that if he was to succeed, then he needed to stay focus, especially with the one he was about to face.

He had never met Mephisto in his life, but he had heard of him from countless demons in Gehenna, as well as other members of the Illuminati. And though humans and demons are vastly different, no matter who it was that told him about him; every description of him was the same. Mephisto is nothing like anyone would have expected him to be. Ranging from being the second most powerful demon in Gehenna, to being a clown; almost every description was the same, and yet he had no idea what to expect. No one could put the demon into words. Even Lucifer didn't know how best to describe him, so all he said was _'Mephisto is the most lively of all our brothers, and demon in Gehenna'_ Mephisto's description was nowhere near enough to explain who he actually was. All he really knew of the demon was that he is the demon king of time, and his second oldest brother followed by Lucifer, and he also knew that one third of Gehenna seems to follow his ideologies and even commands, while the rest follow Satan and Lucifer. He's known this facts since he was a child in Gehenna, so it didn't tell him much about the true character of Mephisto.

So seeing as he didn't have one solid idea as to who Mephisto is, the most logical thing to do was to wing it. And after giving it an honest amount of thought, he had to agree with himself that winging it was the best course of action. Of course he didn't like going in blind -no one would- but he had to agree that it was probably the best he could do, and the more he accepted that fact the better.

Now, it was true that he didn't really know anything about Mephisto, but he did know a bit about the other important members of True cross. Naturally Homare had made sure he was well informed, and so she gave him a folder filled with files of different exorcists in True cross. Of course it only contained the most important members making it very useful. He had read over the files before going to sleep, but now that he thought about it he didn't get through it all and now was a good time as any.

Rin reached for the awful plain backpack Homare gave him, which she insisted he needed in order to look like an average human teen, which is also the reason why he was dressed in awful clothing, and hiding anything that looked remotely demon like which annoyed him even more. Rin -a little bit more forcefully than he need to-opened his backpack and took out the red folder. He held the folder in his hands for a little while, and then proceeded to open it to the first file, not wanting to start where he left off but to read everything again.

When he looked down at the folder, the first file he came across was that of a man named Arthur, Angel. Rin looked down at his information, which said: ' _next in line to become paladin._ _ **Dangerous adversary, avoid engagement at all costs**_ _'_ Rin scoff at the dangerous adversary part. As if anyone could pose such a danger to him. Of course he'll try to avoid the human as much as possible in order to keep his cover, but if it came down to it he would gladly fight him.

Rin flipped the file, and the picture he came across this time was that of a women. Shura Kirigakure, a wielder of a demon sword and a renowned wielder of said sword. Rin looked down, and he came across her information which said _"first apprentice or Shiro Fujimoto, the current paladin. After several inquiries, and spying on her, we found that she is an important asset for experiment W.O.L.F.' Rin_ arched his brow, he didn't know what experiment W.O.L.F was, and he doubted that they would tell him, but he did find it fascinating that this woman was so important to the organization? Rin looked at her picture. She definitely did not look like someone of importance to him, but then again it wasn't up to him to determine if she was important, that was Lucifer's job.

Once more, Rin flipped the file pages, and he came about a few other members of True cross. For the last hour, Rin flipped through the files skimming through the various names, and only stopping at those that caught his eyes, like Light, who didn't say anything of interest, but for some reason Rin felt like there was something odd in the human's strange expression.

More time passed by, and as Rin looked outside. He knew that they must be close, seeing by the position of the sun. Rin looked at the folder once more, and his finger lingered on the edge of the file for a little longer -almost unwilling to flip the file over. Of course he wasn't scared of a little file, but he was a little anxious of the file that came next, of the file he already knew that came next. Rin sighed in exasperation of himself, and flipped the file over and his eyes landed on the picture of an older man with glasses and a grin plastered on his face. The name of the man was Shiro Fujimoto, and unlike the other files, Rin didn't need to read the name to know who he was. For years he had been hearing the name of Shiro back on Gehenna, and he heard it constantly from the Illuminati, and no matter who he heard the name from, the reaction and the story that went with it was always the same. Shiro is the strongest exorcist currently in existence, and the one who tried to keep Rin away from his true lineage, and destiny, and for these reasons, every demon in Gehenna hated him.

Rin sighed once more, and examined the picture of the old man. The man definitely didn't look at all frightening, and powerful like everyone said he was, but then again neither did any of the pictures in the file looked to be a danger. Rin knew he was just underestimating the old Paladin, who had to have great power up his sleeves if he had managed to keep him away from his father for as long as he did, but it was just so hard to see past the old man's smile, and see the powerful exorcist. That being said, his unwillingness to see him as a powerful paladin didn't mean that he liked, or sympathize the old man, quite the opposite really. He saw Shiro as an enemy, and an obstacle for the Illuminati, nothing more nothing less. Of course other demons in Gehenna thought that he would hate the human, especially his brother Astaroth who hated anything human. But truthfully, Rin couldn't find himself hating someone that he didn't even know or remember, he simply saw him as an enemy because Satan said he is one, and so does Lucifer and he is bound to do what they say. That being said he wouldn't go out of his way to kill the old man, or to look for a fight with him. He would simply let him be, and keep a good distance between each other.

Rin kept looking at Shiro's file for a little while longer trying to ingrain the image in his head, and then he turned the page and he came about the file he knew came next. Rin's eye quickly landed on the picture of a teenager his age with glasses, who Rin knew to be Yukio Okumura- his younger brother.

Of course he knew of his human twin brother, because Lucifer and Satan had told him about him since he can remember. And though Satan, and various demons and his brothers and sisters tried to convince him into hating the four eyes, he -like Shiro- couldn't hate what he didn't know. In truth he didn't really know what to think of Yukio, except that he is human and that for that reason he will never be his brother, at least not to him.

"We are entering True Cross academy sir." Beleth said softly. Rin's head jerked up as he was snapped out of this thoughts, and he looked outside the window. His first reaction as his eyes landed on True cross was complete awe, in fact his mouth partially fell open.

The academy has huge, a lot bigger than he had ever expected it to be, and the only way he could describe it as is a large fortress like structure, with various building stacked upon one another. And because everything was jumbled up together, it gave it a chaotic look to it and yet it gave it a unique look, and definitely something he had never seen aboard the Dominus which everything aboard the ship was meticulous and organized. Rin suspected by just comparing both bases of both organization, that the aesthetics of it almost felt like they represented their leader somehow. The Dominus was perfect, organized, and imposing like Lucifer. While True cross academy is imperfect, chaotic, and almost easy going with and air of warning like he suspected Mephisto is, and it made him wonder once more as to Mephisto's nature.

As Rin was looking in awe out the window, a sharp buzzing sound came from the front of the car, which caused Rin to look at the front of the car and almost cover his ears which were sensitive to loud sounds, while Beleth was completely ignorant of the sound. It was a few seconds later that the buzzing dissipated, and a voice emanated from where the buzzing came.

"This is Belial, servant of king Samael." silence followed for a few seconds, and Rin arched his brow at hearing Mephisto's real name. "This is a demon free zone, and unless you have clear permission from king Samael, a group of highly experienced exorcist will be sent you way and you will be dealt with."

At the mention of exorcist, Rin grasped the hilt of his katana, and bared his teeth at the object with the voice. If exorcist were on their way he would be ready to fight them, mission be damned.

"Since you have not changed course, I will give you a minute to state your business before I call the exorcist." the voice quieted, but the bussing remained, and Rin almost held his breath in anticipation of the fight to come.

A few moments of silence passed, and Beleth decided to speak almost at the last moment. "My name is Beleth and I suspect that you recognize the name, so you must know that it is of great importance that our conversation does not get overheard by the wrong people. So I ask, who else is listening to this conversation?"

More silence followed, and Rin was sure that Belial was sending out the exorcist at the moment, but then the voice returned once more. "You are not wrong in your assumptions, I do recognize the name, and for this reason king Samael has asked me to tell you that apart from myself and him no one else is overhearing the conversation, so you may speak without worry."

"I appreciate king Samael's discretion, and so does the Illuminati. And since I do not want to waste a demon king's time, I will go straight to the point." Beleth said to the device, and Rin thought that he was being awfully nice to the enemy, but then again; if someone could blow you up with the snap of a finger even he would try to be nicer to said demon. "The king of Light, Lucifer had sent me to escort prince Rin, the heir to the throne of Gehenna, into True cross academy. And under his highness king Lucifer command I ask that you allow us entry, and grant us audience with king Samael to discuss matters of great importance for both Gehenna and Assiah."

The device went quiet, and Rin's grip on his katana tightened, as he awaited the decision. He really didn't know if Mephisto would actually attack them, even though he knew that would be suicidal on his part. Even though they weren't in Gehenna, demons laws still applied, and if Mephisto were to strike down an envoy of Lucifer -a greater king than he- then he would be bringing war unto himself and his organization. Rin didn't think Mephisto, clown or not would be foolish enough to do that.

"The exorcist." Rin growled at the mention exorcists, and partially unsheathed his katana, ready for a fight. "Have been ordered to stand down. You may enter the academy, and you shall not be met with hostility, and you shall be under the king's protection. King Samael does however, request that you head straight to his personal estate at the farthest reaches of the western wing where he shall be awaiting you." The voice declared.

Knowing that they won't be blown to pieces, Rin sighed and let go of his katana, and his body slumped back on the seat.

"Understood, we will be making our way to the destination as quickly as possible, and once more the Illuminati is grateful to King Samael graciousness." Beleth said unto the device.

"Do not tardy, we shall be awaiting you."

The bussing dissipated, and the car became quiet once more as Beleth drove through the streets of True cross academy.

As they passed through the streets Rin looked out the window, and he looked at everyone cautiously. Almost everyone in True cross were teenagers around his age, with the exception of a few adults here and there, which Rin found interesting. He had come from a base where he was the youngest one, to being the same age as everyone and that made him feel odd.

Rin's eye trailed down the road, and his eyes shifted from place to place as he looked at everyone. Every single human was wearing the same uniform, at least most of them were, and they were all speaking amiably at one another instead of brooding and minding their own business like everyone in the Dominus did.

Rin scooted closer to the window, and his breath fogged the glass, and his tail swayed from side to side, a clear sign of his curiosity. He had never seen so many humans before, and much less in their natural environment, not to mention the different things he had never seen before, like the colourful stores, foods he couldn't put a name to and yet his mouth watered just by looking at them, and some of the scenery he found aweing, and interesting. And the more Rin looked the more he started to think that spending some time at True cross academy wasn't so bad if he got to experience all this, and discover new things that Assiah has to offer, and just thinking that he got the urge to get off the car and look around.

As Rin looked in awe and curiosity at everything, he vaguely heard a voice talking to him, until the voice raised its tone and Rin snapped his head away from the window and looked at the rear view mirror where Beleth was looking at him. "Master Rin, we are nearing King Samael's state so I must ask that you stay focus. As you already know, meeting one of the demon kings, especially one such as King Samael, is no small matter. You need to remain concentrated, and remember everything you have been taught throughout all this years." Beleth declared, and Rin huffed in annoyance. He wasn't a small child who needed to be reminded of things.

"I am serious Master. If you somehow disrespect king Samael, he could send the exorcist after you, and it would be warranted according to our laws, so you need to be as respectful as you can." Beleth reprimanded, and Rin suppressed a groan and gave him a curt nod instead.

He knew Beleth meant well, and he knew his advice was wise and sound, but boy did he hated being treated like a little boy! Ever since he can remember he had always been treated like a child, seeing as he was the youngest of all his brother, and most demons in Gehenna, in fact he had never meet a demon as young as him in his entire life. Even Amaimon who is the second youngest of the demon king's after Beelzebub, was ancient compared to him. And since he is the youngest, every demon tended to treat him like he was still a young demon, when he was already considered a full grown demon in Gehenna, he was one of the most powerful demon in Gehenna for crying out loud! So yes he hated being treated like child, and he had good reasons for it.

"I'll try my best." Rin sighed, and Beleth nodded.

"That is all I ask sir."

Rin sat back and looked out the window as the ride continued. Beleth drove by countless large buildings, and everywhere he looked he could see stores and humans laughing, and running to places they were late to. Once more Rin felt the urge to get out and experience everything, but he stomped down on the urge, and looked away from the window and sighed. Beleth was right, he needed to be focused if he was to meet Mephisto, and he couldn't afford to get distracted by anything. The mission was first, everything else is of no importance compared to the mission.

Beleth kept driving for a few minutes and Rin started to wonder how large the school was? Belial did say that Mephisto's state is at the furthest side of the western wing, so it must be far, but no matter how far they should have reached it by now.

Rin began to stamp his hands against his lap out of boredom, and sighed from exasperation.

"How much longer Beleth?" he asked annoyed, and the older demon looked at him with amusement.

"Were actually already here sir. If you look out the window you'll be able to see the house."

As quickly as he could, Rin lunged to the window and looked at the immense house. Just as he had been when he first saw True cross academy; Rin looked at the state in awe and wonder. The house was huge! It had to have at least three levels high, and the width of it was insane. The outside of the house was decorated by luxurious cars parked on the roads, and there were trees and plants that were shaped as different animals, and some were shaped as hearts which he found odd seeing as this is the house of a demon king. But the most impressive thing in the house was the large fountain, which had a golden figure in the middle covered by water, making it difficult to see what the figure was.

When the car finally reached the front steps of the state, Beleth turned off the car, went straight to Rin's door and opened it for him while bowing deeply. Rin exited the limo and looked up at the house in awe. It was truly a beautiful house from the outside, and he expected the inside to be same.

Rin jerked his head down and his eyes came upon a tall figure, who had a long mustache and goatee. The man was also, wearing a black suit with a bow tie making look quiet sophisticated. Of course Rin knew he was demon just by the feel of his aura, and even the smell, but for some reason -like Beleth- he didn't appear at all demon like, but almost like a humanized demon.

Rin made a low grumbling sound and Belial turned away from Beleth to look at him instead.

"You must be Prince Rin." Belial said with an exultant tone, and Rin had to stop himself from rolling his eyes when the demon knelt on one knee before him. "It is an honour to meet you sire."

This time Rin couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Yes, yes, you may rise." he ordered with exasperation, and Belial swiftly followed his command. "Now that were past the formalities, can we get this over with and show us the way?" Rin barked, and Beleth coughed as if warning him to watch his manners.

Belial looked at him shocked, but then seemed to gather himself and bowed his head. "Of course sire, right this way please."

Rin followed Belial, and entered the state with Beleth following closely behind. Both he and the older demon walked through the halls of the state, neither of them saying anything as they walked, and Beleth kept his gaze to the front, while Rin looked at everything he could. The halls of the state were filled with strange older paintings, and quite a few of them were of Mephisto, who he recognized from pictures he had seen of him. Rin's eye landed on one of the pictures that really made the demon king look like a clown with the ridiculous outfit he was wearing. Rin's eyes trailed down the hall, and his eyes landed on a ridiculous pink dog and Rin had to suppress a laugh. Really, who was this demon king? Was he even a demon king of a buffoon? Rin's eyes shifted to another portrait of Mephisto that showed him with a ridiculous pink outfit and a top hat. _'Yup definitely a buffoon_ ' he thought.

Rin turned away from the painting and looked ahead like Beleth, and kept following Belia. In no time they reached their destination, which was in front of a large white door. They all stopped in front of it awaiting Belia's instructions.

"King Samael is waiting for you inside the office." Belial said, as he turned slowly and opened the door for them. "If you need anything, I will be at your service." declared with a little bow at the end, as Rin passed by him and walked into the room.

When both he and Beleth were fully inside the room, Belial closed the door behind them softly, but before it closed Beleth looked back to give the fellow demon a curt nod, but Rin didn't so much as glance back, he was to shocked by what was in front of him

"Ah, at last we meet! My name's Mephisto Pheles, allow me to welcome you formally to True cross academy. So for what business has our brother sent you?"

Rin didn't respond, even after what felt like a minute passed, he was far too shocked to say anything. Mephisto was standing right in front of him, and yet he had a hard time believing that this was the demon king of time, and the third most powerful demon existence. Of course he had seen the portraits outside in the hallway, but for some reason he thought that those portraits were meant as some sort of joke, he in no way expected Mephisto to actually dress like a clown!

A few more seconds of awkward silence passed through the room, until Beleth cleared his throat, and walked up to Rin to stand just shy of being beside of him. "My deepest apologies your highness. Even though he has spent all his life among royalty, Master has yet to learn his manners, so I ask that you please forgive him for his ignorance." Beleth hesitated a little as he spoke.

Mephisto shrugged "There's no harm done, and beside I don't blame him, not when he's in the presence of such a handsome demon such as myself!" he exulted, snapping Rin out his thoughts by sheer disgust.

Did he hear right? Did the damn clown actually think that he thought him handsome? What a preposterous notion to make! And the more he heard and saw the clown, the more he was convinced that Lucifer was somehow playing a prank on him, even though he knew Lucifer would rather die than do something so lowly.

"I do not!" he growled, and bared his teeth at the clown. "I'm just shocked to see that the famous king of time is actually nothing more than a clown." he snarled, and Beleth took in a sharp deep breath.

"Master Rin! How-"

"Oh? A clown you say? Well that maybe true to some extent, but even a clown knows not to insult another demon when they're in their territory." Mephisto sang, but Rin could hear the slight hint of exasperation in his voice.

Rin glared at Mephisto, and gave him a low growl. "As powerful as you maybe, you wouldn't dare lay a hand on me, you'd be dead before the end of the week if you did."

Mephisto met Rin's eyes and he arched a brow in intrigue, almost as a challenge, which further put Rin on edge. The atmosphere in the room got colder, and the tension spiked as both powerful demons stared at each other, while Beleth shifted nervously on his spot.

"You really aren't good at making first impressions are you?"

"And neither are you." Rin growled back, and Mephisto smiled into the light, causing his fang to glint, giving him a more frightening look.

"Beleth do you mind waiting outside while I speak to the young prince?" Mephisto asked, sounding more like a command.

Beleth shifted uncomfortably on his spot. "I shouldn't leave master-"

"I insist." Mephisto insisted, and the door behind them opened slowly.

Beleth looked from Rin to Mephisto unsure as to what to do, but when Rin didn't say anything or even look at him; Beleth sighed and exited the room without saying anything else.

"Well now we can speak freely, with all formalities aside."

Rin didn't say anything and instead folded his arms across his chest in defiance, which amused Mephisto even more.

"You know, you have put me in quite the predicament by coming here." Mephisto mused.

Rin opened his mouth to ask what the clown meant, but before he said anything Mephisto interrupted him.

"You are the son of Satan, according to my position in True cross, I must kill you before you become a threat to humanity." Mephisto beamed as if he was talking of the weather.

Rin snarled at the clown, his thoughts jumping to conclusions. He saw this coming, and he knew that the clown would pull something like this, which is the reason why he had been so reluctant to go ahead with the mission. In matter of seconds Rin grasped his katana, ready to fight Mephisto if he choose to attack, but instead of doing anything Mephisto simply stood by the window and kept looking at him with the same stupid smile.

"However, since you were claimed by our father as his legitimate son, and the heir to the throne of Gehenna I find myself at a crossroad. I am a demon king who resides in Assiah, but still a demon king nevertheless. Because I hold an allegiance to Gehenna to some extent, I cannot kill you, but I can't just let you go can I?" Mephisto mused, and Rin bared his fangs at him. It disgusted him how someone like the king of time could choose the humans over his own race, and even over his own brother.

Mephisto taped his finger against his chin in thought. "What to do, what to do?" he thought aloud. "I could order every exorcist in True cross to dispose of you, and put the blame on someone else."

Rin growled at the mention of exorcists, and mentally prepared to fight the clown and an army of exorcists. He didn't like his odds, but if it really did come down to a fight he would gladly obliged.

Silence penetrated the room, and Rin stood very still, until all of a sudden Mephisto chuckled and shrugged.

"Like I said before, there's no harm done, and I will let this one pass but I'll give you a piece of advice. If you are truly serious about this mission of yours to join True cross as a spy, i suggest you stop making enemies of everyone you meet especially of me. As far as I know, and as far as you're concerned I am your one and true ally as long as you remain in True cross." Mephisto warned, all joking aside as he folded his arms behind his back and adopted a more regal stature.

Rin froze on the spot, and his hold on his katana loosened. "Wait how do you know about my mission?" Rin asked shocked.

Mephisto chuckled and waved his finger from side to side. "I have my ways, but I admit I don't know everything, especially when our older brother is involved. Which is why I need a demon such as yourself to spy for me."

Rin narrowed his eyes, and growled. "What makes you think I would spy for you?"

"And what makes you think I'll just let you in my school without anything in return?" Mephisto chuckled, and Rin shut his mouth, he did have a point. If he wanted to complete his mission - and just thinking it made him want to vomit- then he needed Mephisto.

Rin snarled in defeat, and folded his arms in front of his chest, making look like a chastised child. "I suppose you're right." he mumbled.

Mephisto grind, and placed one of his hand on his ears, as if trying to amplify the sound. "What's that, I couldn't hear you?"

"I said you're right, you damn clown!" Rin snapped. "I need your help to complete this mission, despite how much I hate the idea. And like you said, you need me in order to know what's really going on at the Illuminati, so for now I guess we'll just have to help each other." Rin conceded.

Mephisto put his hand down, and looked at him almost as if he was inspecting him to see if he could find any trickery in him, but when it seems that he could find none, he pointed his finger up in the air. "Wunderbar! So we are concurred? You help me and I shall help you with your mission." Mephisto walked up to him, bent slightly at his waist seeing as he was taller, and offered him his hand to do the customary human act of shaking hands.

Rin glared at the Mephisto's hand, and then he looked up at him to glare at him some more. He really didn't want to agree to an alliance with the clown, his every aura screamed of someone that can't be trusted, but he doesn't have any other choice. That is if he doesn't want to return to the Illuminati a failure. Rin gave out a loud sigh, and grasped Mephisto's hand and shock it firmly.

Mephisto gave him a wide smile, and all of a sudden he let go of his hand and strode back to stand behind his desk. "So now we reach the point where you tell me how you'll go about this little spying plan of yours."

Rin put his hands inside his pockets, and glared at the clown some more. He didn't trust the clown, and he'd rather not have to tell him anything about his plan, but he supposed he needed to know seeing as he was the only one that could help him.

"I was told to infiltrate True cross as an exorcist student-"

"I'll stop you right there." Mephisto waved his hand dismissively. "As much as I want to send you into a wild goose chase, and allow you to waste your time as a page, I do not want to invoque our brother's wrath if he finds that I'm making you run circles around True cross, and thus return to him empty handed. And besides, Shima is infiltrating True cross as an exorcist student, so there's no need for another just like him. No, the only way to truly find valuable information is by becoming a full fledge exorcist yourself."

"And how would I do that? I've no formal exorcism schooling, and I barely know anything about this world. I agree that being an exorcist student won't work, but if not a student then what?"

Mephisto sat on his chair, and placed his chin on his knuckles. "How good are you at learning new material?"

Rin looked at Mephisto, and though about the question for a little while. "It's one of my strongest attributes. Being a student of father, I had to learn as quickly as possible or face his wrath."

Mephisto nodded, "I thought so, our father isn't known for his patience after all, which is fortunate because now I know what to do."

Rin arched his brow, and walked up to Mephisto desk to sit by the chair stationed in front of him. "And what's that exactly?"

Mephisto gave him an almost predatory smile, and Rin felt the urge to move back from the creep. "There's still a full year until the start of term, which gives us plenty of time to teach you all you need to know. If you're up to the challenge that is?"

Rin grimaced a little. He didn't like the idea of having to cram what could be years of knowledge in a few months, but if he had to he would do it if it meant achieving mission.

"There's no problem. If I have to study everything an exorcist needs to know in a few months then I will do it." Rin said without a hint of doubt, but for some reason he found something funny about it.

Mephisto chuckled. "as good as you maybe, it's impossible for any aspiring exorcist to learn everything there is to know in a few months." Mephisto grabbed a piece of paper. "But it is possible to learn the fundamentals, especially since I plan to put you in a teaching position."

Rin almost jumped out of his chair from the news. He a teacher? That is insane, impossible even! He never taught anyone, much less teach aspiring exorcists especially when he's not an exorcist himself.

"Me teach? There's no way, I never taught anyone before, I can-"

"Do you want to complete this mission?" Mephisto interrupted.

Rin shut his mouth and huffed. "Yes." He growled, and pouted.

"Well then it's settled. You will teach the basic, and advanced classes on how to fight a demon. The position would suit you well, given that you spent all your life amongst demons and are a demon yourself, I doubt there's anybody more suited for the job." Mephisto passed him the paper he was holding, and Rin grabbed it. "The exorcist final exam is in three months, but since you will be a special case you will take it at the end of the year. So in the meantime you will live here, and you will study the books written on that paper in my private library every day the whole day. I will also appoint an exorcist I trust to teach you, and guide you in the process."

Alarm bells began to ring in his head. An exorcist he trusts? He didn't like the idea of being taught by someone Mephisto trusts. Rin opened his mouth to protests, but before he could say anything Mephisto stood up.

"For today however, I think you can afford an off day and rest. So I'll leave it to Belial to show you to the room you'll be staying."

"But-"

"Now, now, no more complaining. You have taken enough of my time, and I need to get back to work." Just as he said the last words a ding rang from one of the devices on Mephisto's desk which he recognized to be a video game.

"You mean back to playing video games?" Rin glared at him, and Mephisto shrugged.

"Say what you will. It still stands that you have taken too much of my time, so shoo." He gestured Rin to leave the room with his hands.

Rin growled and stood up. "You still-"

Once more he was interrupted as the door to the office opened and Belial entered. "You called sire?" Belial Asked with a bow.

"Yes, Rin will be staying at the state, so show him to his room and make sure he doesn't interrupt my important business." Mephisto commanded.

"Important business my ass-"

"Ah, ah, ah remember we are allies now, so we gotta learn to get along if we both want this to work."

Rin shut his mouth, and he felt his blood rush to his face from the anger. He hated being told what to do, especially from someone the likes of Mephisto.

Rin gave him a final growl and turned around swiftly, and made his way out the door where Belial was waiting for him. Before he left the office however, he looked back.

Mephisto was looking down at a document he was signing, only to look back at him seconds later. "Oh, and you're not to leave this place. No wondering around the school, or speaking to anyone. That includes any quests that come here, do you understand?" Mephisto asked, all traces of the clown gone as his eyes sharpened and he gave Rin an intense look.

In that split moment as their eye met, Rin understood why Mephisto was so feared, and revered in Gehenna despite him choosing the humans over his own kind. There was so much raw power behind that childish smile, power that even he would struggle against if he were to fight him.

Without saying anything, Rin nodded and closed the door behind him.

* * *

So that's the third chapter, and i bet you weren't expecting Rin to become a teacher were you? Oh and for those of you that may think that Rin doesn't have the intellectual capacity for it, just remember that he is different from the Rin in the anime and manga who hates to study and anything to do with the academics. Now i'm not saying he's Yukio level of academically inclined -or am I?- but all i say is that his personality is different.

Also, I hope you liked the relationship between Rin and Mephisto. I tried to keep it more or less the same as the manga/anime and i don't really see that changing any time now, but all of you gotta prepare for Amaimon. Now their relationship will be different from the manga/anime...just trying to keep everyone still interested ;)

Lastly, I'm glad that a lot of you are liking the fic so far, and I'm grateful for the reviews so thanks!

Now please review, and see you next chap!


	4. Chapter 4: from child to monster

Chapter 4

From child to monster

* * *

Shiro inserted the key inside the keyhole, turned it and opened the door that would lead them to True cross academy. Shiro took out the key and placed it around his key holder resting on his hip, which dangled with countless other keys, and passed through the door with Yukio following closely behind. The door closed behind them, and they both looked unfazed as they walked through the halls of True cross not at all shocked to know that they've essentially traveled quite a few kilometres in a span of seconds. Neither of them looked or said anything to each other, until Shiro turned around causing his exorcist trench coat to swish with flare.

"Well here we are, first day of classes." Shiro grinned, while Yukio just kept looking at him with the same impassive look

"This is far from my first day of class." He said as he adjusted his back pack's strap.

"Maybe not, but it's not every day a young exorcist takes his first class to become a teacher? And it's not every day said exorcist is as young as you, or if said exorcist used to waddle to me crying 'daddy daddy!' When he was three years old." Shiro mused, and to Yukio's bad luck a fellow classmate passed by them just as Shiro said those words and Yukio saw as the man sniggered, barely containing his laughter.

"Dad…" he drawled angrily, as a tint of red coloured his cheeks in embarrassment.

Shiro chuckled, and ruffled his hair causing Yukio to glare at him even more.

"Well I should get going, I see my presence is not wanted here at the moment." Shiro grinned and put his hand inside his pocket, while Yukio huffed and tidied up his hair.

"Good idea." Yukio said, with less resentment for the old man than he expected.

Shiro gave Yukio one last smile, and walked away and raised his palm in the air. "See you after class then -oh and don't go around chasing girls, I've heard you have quite the reputation with the female populace around here."

Yukio froze on the spot, and he instantly heard people hysterically laughing behind him, no longer able to stop themselves. As if on cue Yukio turned beet red, and he got the urge to hide his face from view, and to make things worse Shiro didn't stop.

"You know I'd like to say 'that's my boy!' But since I have to be the respectable adult here, I'll say that you should focus on school and keep your nose clean… at least that's what I think a respectable adult would do. I don't know about you but I've had my fair share-"

Shiro's voice drifted further and further making it harder to hear him, and for that Yukio was thankful to the physics of both sound and human anatomy which saved him from further embarrassment, especially when his dad was probably going to say something even more embarrassing.

"Paladin's sure got a sense of humour!" Someone chuckled behind him, and Yukio's ears redden, but he couldn't help but quirk his lips in amusement. That damn priest is going to be the death of him one day.

* * *

Shiro walked out of the exorcist academy, and entered an area of the school meant for high ranked exorcist only. As he passed by the halls a few exorcist passing by greeted him with respect and awe, and while he tried to greet all of them back he found that he was too distracted to do so.

Last night before he went to sleep, Mephisto called him; not the monastery, but him personally. Now of course it wouldn't be the first time he received a call from Mephisto in the middle of the night, but it was the first time in a long time which worried him. Mephisto is not human, so he doesn't feel the need to converse or catch up with those he considers friends when they've haven't spoken in a long while. That being said, Shiro already knew that whatever Mephisto wanted to talk to him about - seeing as he asked him to come to his state - then it must be of great importance. Either that or the clown just got bored, and wanted to get amusement out of him wasting time, at which case he would shoot him if that turned out to be true. But if something was indeed going on, then that really made him nervous, and he could only speculate what that would be.

He knew that there had been quite a bit of demon activity going around world, now more than ever since Lucifer had returned to Assiah. Naturally in the past they've had been prepared for the record high surges of demons coming to Assiah upon Lucifer's return which was always every ten years give or take. After so many centuries, exorcists were used to it by now, and they prepared for it but this time it was different. In the last three years they've had large surges of demons coming to Assiah at record numbers, and not just regular low level demons, but noble level demons and sometimes even demon kings, not to mention the Illuminati were gaining more and more confidence, and were now freely targeting their enemies out in the open rather than hide in the shadows. With the record high amount of demons, and with the Illuminati's change of behaviour he could only suspect that something big was coming, and he was dead set to find out what that was today.

Shiro walked up to a specific door that only led to Mephisto's private estate, if one had the right key, a key he possessed.

Shiro took out his key holder and flipped through keys, looking for the diamond heart shaped one. When he found it he grasped it, and swiftly inserted it and opened the door. Without looking back, Shiro walked inside the familiar white and pink estate without so much as announcing his arrival, which he knew was sure to frustrate Belial, but not shock Mephisto seeing as he probably knew he was already here.

Shiro made sure to close the door behind him, and walked through the halls with a familiarity that could only be achieved after coming to this damn maze quite a few times.

"Shiro Fujimoto." An elegant voice called out, and Shiro turned his head causing his glasses to glint from the lights.

Belial was walking towards him, with the same cold and serious demeanour he always adopted towards guests, but Shiro could see past what most people saw and he could tell that Belial was frustrated with him for not telling him that he was on his way. Shiro thought it was fun to pull the old demon's buttons when he was younger, but now that he was grown up -at least on paper that is- he thought that Belial's need for perfection and OCD was quite annoying. He didn't even know if demons could have OCD but he couldn't describe it as anything but that, and for that reason Belial was probably the most annoying demon he knew on a friendly basis.

Belial strided to him, and when they both finally met in the hallways Belial made sure to stand in front of him and block his way. "Sir Shiro Fujimoto, how many times must I tell you that you need to inform me that you are coming to the estate? This isn't your home and you are trespassing if you don't tell me you're coming."

Shiro rolled his eyes "Sure, I'll keep that in mind next time I come." Shiro lied, and attempted to side step the demon, but Belial stepped in front of him once more.

Shiro looked at Belial annoyed, while he looked at him with the same cold face. "I will escort you from here on out." Belial declared and Shiro tried really hard to stop himself from groaning in annoyance.

"There's no need for that, I already know my way around thanks." Shiro attempted to side step him, but once more Belial stopped him.

"As the servant of this house it's my job to escort you around to king Mephisto. Not doing that is a violation of my duties, so please." Belial insisted.

Shiro couldn't help but huff and put his hands on his hip. The old demons was really starting to annoy him, but now it also concerned him. The old fossil has never insisted on escorting him before, in fact he had always left him to his own volition when he visited; after cursing him under his breath and thinking that he wasn't listening of course. But this time Belial was doing nothing of the sort, in fact he was acting nice towards him, which could only mean one thing… something was indeed terribly wrong.

Shiro glared. "I don't see the need to-"

"Guten Morgen Shiro!" A deep familiar voice said.

Shiro turned around with his hands still on his hips, and saw Mephisto walking down the hallway to where they were standing. The ancient demon was wearing his usual pink suit and top hat, and his expression was its usual cocky self, but Shiro knew Mephisto well enough to notice that there was an air of concern in him.

' _Somethings definitely up'_ he thought to himself.

"Mephisto, long time no see." Shiro greeted and the demon grinned, and kept walking. Seeing by how tall he was, Mephisto reached them rather quickly even though his pace was slow and steady.

"Well you are here earlier than Belial expected." Mephisto exclaimed as he took his last step.

"But I arrived just when you expected?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

Mephisto raised his hand with a dramatic flair. "Of course, I'm the king of time after all, I always know." He exulted, and Shiro snorted. "And since you are right on time for breakfast, won't you join me?" He asked.

As if on cue Shiro's stomach growled and Mephisto grinned. He had forgotten to eat anything this morning because he had been too concern with whatever Mephisto had to talk to him about.

"I'll take that as a yes then, so follow me and don't wander off." Mephisto said as he stepped ahead of them and turned his head to look at Belial and spoke to him.

"Stellen Sie sicher, dass er wegbleibt." Mephisto said to Belial in German, which he didn't understand, and it worried him.

"Ja mein König" Belial responded with a deep bow and with that he left with not so much as looking back at Shiro.

Mephisto turned his head away from Belial and put his attention back to Shiro who was looking at him with a raised brow. "Something wrong?" Asked Mephisto in a mocking manner.

Shiro didn't say anything and walked away from Mephisto, who followed and matched his fast pace with ease.

In no time at all they made it to the grand dining room, that would make even the richest mouth fall open from awe, but to Shiro it was just a regular dining room that was just too overly exaggerated like its owner. Shiro and Mephisto walked in, and one of Mephisto's servants pulled the chairs for them and when they sat he pushed them back in for them.

' _Fancy as ever.'_ He mused to himself.

Shiro looked to the side and saw another servant coming his way with his breakfast, and put it in front of him with flare.

"Well bon appetite." Mephisto declared and began to eat his food with finesse, while Shiro wasn't as careful as he was but he wasn't a circus monkey either. He knew how to behave, and act proper, but he rarely felt like doing so, especially when he was hungry.

They both ate their breakfast in silence, and they both looked at the servants as they removed their plates and walked out of the dining room, leaving them alone.

Shiro looked at Mephisto who still had a small plate of what appeared to be fruits in front of him.

"Nice day we're having." Mephisto commented while looking out the window.

Shiro raised one brow and chuckled, while putting his spoon down. "Why am I really here Mephisto? You couldn't have called me with such urgency to have breakfast with me."

Mephisto huffed dramatically and put his own spoon down. "Maybe I felt lonely and I wanted to have breakfast with my friend, there's nothing wrong with that." He exclaimed not sounding at all like a lie, but Shiro didn't buy it of course and he simply stared at him with the same impassive look.

"No of course there's nothing wrong with that, if you were human that is. So tell me. Why did you called." he said simply and took a sip out of his tea.

Mephisto leaned back, and gave out a mocking sigh. "And I was looking forward to having a nice conversation with an old friend, but very well I'll just forget that and get down to business." Mephisto said with an air of mock hurt.

Shiro rolled his eyes but when Mephisto leaned on the table placed his elbows on the table, and adopted a more serious demeanour, Shiro swiftly put his cup down and wiped his smile off his lips.

"Yesterday evening I got a visit from the most unlikely of guests, can you guess who that was?" Mephisto asked, and Shiro frowned and looked at him confused.

How in the hell was he supposed to figure that out? Thousands of unlikely guests came to mind when he thought about it, and none of them he suspected were shocking enough to make Mephisto call him.

"I wouldn't know." He said, and Mephisto's eyes seemed to glint for some strange reason.

For a brief second they just stared at each other. Both demon eyes and human eyes stared at each other for a long while, assessing each other until finally Mephisto leaned further on his spot. "Yesterday evening a noble class demon came to True cross, his name is Beleth. I imagine you recognize the name?"

Shiro hummed, he did indeed recognize the name. "Beleth, a general in Gehenna who has eighty-five legions of demons under his command, and a faithful servant of Lucifer. Now what would a demon like that be doing at True cross academy?" he asked intrigued.

"It's nice to see that you remember your demonology after all this years." Mephisto beamed. "Now as to what he was doing here, well he was sent by the Illuminati, more specifically by Lucifer to deliver a message and something else."

Shiro furrowed his brows, and looked at Mephisto with frustration. He so hated it what he played the guessing game. "Well get it out then, what was it that he came to deliver?"

Mephisto gave him a frightening smile, and once more silence passed through the room. "Not a what, but a who." He said slowly, then leaned forward a little more and looked at Shiro straight in the eyes. "Beleth came under Lucifer's orders to bring the heir of Gehenna to me. Rin, the son of Yuri and Satan." Mephisto declared with a smile, but Shiro was no longer paying attention.

As Mephisto said the last words the room seemed to freeze, as his body turned frigid and he stared at Mephisto.

Did he hear right? Did Mephisto actually said that Rin came to True cross? That cute little baby Rin he had failed to protect all those years ago and taken to Gehenna because he had been too weak and careless, was actually in Assiah? There was just no way he heard right, he must have misheard what Mephisto said.

"What?" was all he managed to ask with a raspy voice.

"I said Rin came to True cross last evening." Mephisto simply replied, not at all affected, while Shiro felt like something was lodged in his throat.

After a minute of utter silence, and him trying to figure out what he said, Shiro let out a long breath and looked down at the table. He just didn't know what to think, how to react or what to say.

After what felt like hours, his mind was finally catching up. 'Rin's back' he whispered to himself in disbelief, and joy and he couldn't believe he was actually saying those words after all this time, after he had failed Yuri all those years ago.

Shiro couldn't help but repeat Rin's name over and over again, as if trying to get it to sink in, and as the more he repeated the name the more his memories flashed back to that fateful day, even though he had tried to forget it through the years. But his mind it seems, wasn't going to let him forget anything. He still remembered all of it, and how it had all started as a normal day.

He remembered from the very beginning, which was the Vatican calling him to tell him that he wasn't needed for the day, and could take the day of. Normally he would have spent that time for his own leisure time, but since he had two additions to the family he got the chance to spend it with the infant twins who he played with despite their young age, and carried them around the monastery for fresh air. Of course the monastery had to be closed that day because no one wanted guests to see Rin, and get frightened by his demonic appearance, so Shiro decided to give everyone a day off. The last couple of months prior had been difficult for everyone, being on high alert for any demons that came for Rin, so he figured that they all deserved it.

And so the day passed quite smoothly, and happily, with the few exemptions of diaper changes which Shiro was still not used to then, and Rin's insistent crying and burning ramdom things in his vicinity because he was either angry, or just thought it was fun, But other than that it hadn't been so bad and so the day went by. When night time came, and exhausted Shiro had put the twins inside their shared cot and read them a story to sleep. When they were finally both at sleep, with Rin being the most stubborn to fall asleep, Shiro had gone out of the monastery and had a smoke which he hadn't had in months due to not wanting to hurt the twins, and not wanting to be a bad influence on them. Usually he wouldn't have given in to his addiction, but that day had been his first day off in months since Yuri's death and he figured he deserved to relax a bit. That had been the worst decision he had made in his life.

While he was outside the monastery and willfully unaware, Lucifer had broken through the strong barriers that were specifically made to keep Satan out. The barriers themselves had been incredibly difficult to make, and had taken them a long time to find the right seal, but in the end they had managed to put them all around the monastery thanks to Shemihaza, and Mephisto. Of course they all thought the barriers would keep any demon out since it could keep Satan out, and he is the strongest demon of them all, so of course it didn't occur to them that other high level demons could get past the barrier, so when Shiro felt that the barrier had been broken he was extremely confused and scared. He thought that first that Satan had found a way to get past the barrier, and he feared for the twins and he feared the dreaded god of demons, but that didn't keep him from running like a madman to the nursery. When Shiro had reached the nursery in record time he had already been too late. Shiro's eyes had quickly looked around the room, and the cot but Rin was nowhere to be seen and all that remained was a crying Yukio and the demon king Lucifer. For a short moment Shiro froze not knowing what to do, but then he was overcome with immense fury, such that he hadn't felt before, and as Shiro looked into the demon king of light's eyes he couldn't stop himself from lunging at the demon. He later learned that such a brash action had been a horrible idea.

When the night had ended, all he got from it was a horrible gash on his face, a missing eye and a hysterical Yukio, but no Rin. The ever boisterous, stubborn, and happy infant that was Rin was gone that horrible night and he had been powerless to stop it.

And now fast forwards fifteen years, he'd woken up thinking that this day was going to be like any other, but was instead shocked to find out that this day was going to change his life just like that night did.

Shiro looked at Mephisto who looked not at all fazed by the news or Shiro's reaction, and was instead reading manga like nothing was going on. Shiro wanted to be angry at Mephisto for taking the situation lightly, but he found that he was still in shock and couldn't really feel anything.

"Is he really back?" he asked unsure, and Mephisto looked up from his manga with boredom in his eyes, and put it away with a flick of his wrist making it disappear.

"I told you already he is back, how many times do you want me to tell you? .Back." Mephisto accentuated.

Shiro took a deep breath to steady himself, and for some crazy reason he couldn't help but smiled. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, and he was overjoyed! But, such joy was short lived, as it was quickly stomped on by uncertainty, and dread.

Shiro wiped the smile off his face. "How did he come back?" he asked dreading the answer, and already having a good idea as to what said answer would be.

Mephisto grinned his usual predatory smile, and put his hand up in the air. In matter of seconds something shinny materialized on Mephisto's hand, and the demon didn't even look down at it, he simply tossed the object towards Shiro causing it to slide across the table and land right in front of him. Shiro tentatively, looked down at it, and he felt his sweat drop.

"That symbol was pinned to his clothes yesterday evening. I'm sure your recognize it."

Shiro grabbed the pin which was a strange design of a golden star. The iconic symbol of the Illuminati. Shiro almost let go of the pin from shock, but instead he held on to it and brought it up to the light causing it to glint

"The illuminati." He whispered far too softly for any human to hear, but Mephisto heard him.

"Indeed, and I'm guessing you already know what this means?" Mephisto asked, and Shiro clutched the pin fiercely and looked down at the demon.

"He's part of the Illuminati" he growled with supressed rage. Those bastards had taken Rin from him, and now they were using him in their murderous organization! Wasn't it bad enough that they had taken him away?

"Well he is, but not quite. You see young Rin had just returned to Assiah a year ago and my brother -being who he is- he didn't trust Rin fully in the organization. So what he did was send Rin to me so he can spy on True cross and prove himself worthy to the Illuminati… among other things." Mephisto explained and leaned back on his chair, and adopted a more thoughtful stance. "You see Rin is under strict orders from Satan to oversee, and set a plan of theirs in motion. What exactly is this plan? Even I don't know for sure. But I do know that Satan wouldn't simply send just any demon to do his bidding."

Shiro made a sour face after hearing the name Satan, and clenched the pin tighter, and felt pain in his hand as the pin punctured his skin. "So you're telling me that he's here under Satan's order?" he asked bitterly, and projecting his anger at Mephisto who just happened to be there.

Mephisto raised a brow, and grinned, not all fazed by Shiro's anger. "My. I haven't seen you this angry in a very long time. It's wonderful to learn that you still haven't lost that old spark of yours." He chuckled, and Shiro huffed in indignation.

Mephisto's grin widen showing his fangs for a brief second, then he cleared his throat and adopted a more serious look. "What I'm trying to tell you old friend is not to get the wrong idea." he warned, and Shiro opened his mouth to protest but Mephisto put his finger up to silence him. Any other time Shiro wouldn't have cared to do what the clown told him to do, but seeing how serious Mephisto was he found he had no other choice but to listen.

"Of course I'm not saying you shouldn't be happy that he is back, since I know controlling emotions is so difficult for you humans. What I'm trying to tell you is not to underestimate him, and see him as something he is not." Mephisto paused, and his eyes looked almost far away from a second. "I saw into his eyes, and I can tell you from experience that his eyes are the eyes of a true demon without a trace of humanity in them, and the eyes of a demon that can kill, and will kill without mercy is he so requires to. So I can tell you without doubt that this Rin isn't the adorable baby Rin, son of Yuri you remember from the past. This is Rin son of Satan and prince of Gehenna. I also, sensed his powers and I dare say that he is on par with Lucifer's or at least very close to being, which makes him a very dangerous opponent, and makes him even more dangerous if you don't see him for what he is."

The room fell quiet as Shiro tried to let the information sink in. He didn't like what he was hearing, and the more he listened the angrier he got at the whole situation, and at Mephisto, but even more annoying a hundred different thoughts bombarded his mind. How could he ask him to behave so indifferently to the boy he saw as his own son? How could Rin become this dreaded demon Mephisto spoke of? Was it even true, or was Mephisto lying through his teeth? Could Rin be as powerful as Mephisto says he is? And din ally. Was there still hope for him?

' _Of course there is'_ he hissed at himself. He had to believe with every fiber of his body that there was still hope. That Rin could somehow change back to that lovable boy he knew. So no he wasn't going to treat Rin like a monster, but he wasn't going to let him go further down the dark path he had been set on to either.

Shiro growl and smashed his fist that had the pin against the table, and glowered at Mephisto "So you want me to chuck all those memories I have off him out the window, and see him as a monster? Do you have any idea how hard that is? Do you even know what you're asking?"

Mephisto didn't even flinch, he simply took a bite out of his food and spoke between bites "I-do, and-you must if-you are to help him."

"Help him how?" He asked annoyed, and losing the last bits of his composure.

Mephisto gulped, and put down his fork. "I plan to use him as a double spy for the Illuminati and True cross, and for that to work I need him to become a teacher in order for him to get clearance on information. Now, he's already started studying which I suspect he's doing quite well on his own, but I need you to guide him, and teach him how to become an exorcist. Teach him the right path, as they say" Mephisto explained as a matter of factly, while Shiro wondered if he heard right.

Mephisto wanted him to treat and see him as a monster, but he also wanted to treat Rin like a perfectly normal person? Now, he wanted to help Rin and guide him down a better path, but he didn't want to hurt others while doing so either.

"You want him to become a teacher? Are you mad?" he asked confused and shocked. If Rin really was as dangerous as Mephisto said he is, then it was dangerous putting him around the general populace, never mind students. That didn't mean he was afraid, or angry at Rin, it just meant that he was weary of him. He knew firsthand what Satan, and Lucifer, and even what Mephisto could do with their powers, and he'd be kidding if he said he wasn't fearful of a child that has the same amount of power and probably more, but who had little control of his emotions, and probably had the same thought process of a teenage boy. He could only imagine what would happen if he happened to wake up with a sour mood just because, and having to give a class full of other kids his age that probably were just as bad as controlling their emotions. It would be chaos!

"Perhaps I am a little mad, we may never know." Mephisto shrugged. "But I stand on my decision and my plan has already been set in motion. I just need you as my last piece on the board. So are you going to help or not? Because can easily find someone else to take-"

"I'll help. If there's anybody helping Rin here it'll be me." He declared, practically jumping on his feet.

Mephisto grinned like a cheshire cat. For a moment both of them looked straight and each other's eyes, then Mephisto jumped to his feet startling Shiro slightly.

"Well then that's settled then. You'll help Rin with his studies, and help guide him down a better path and all that, and I'll take care of the logistics of it all."

Shiro stood up, and watched Mephisto as he walked around the table and went to the door. "What logistics?" he asked skeptical. He's known Mephisto for a very long time, and he knew that getting as much information was always the best course of action when it came to him.

Mephisto turned his head and grinned. "I suspect you already figured out that my father wouldn't like the idea of having you near his precious son. The very man that tried to take, and keep him away from him. So I have to keep you teaching him a secrete for both our sake." Mephisto explained with a little fear in his voice, and pushed the doors open and swiftly walked through them while Shiro still stood by the chair.

"Are you coming then?" he asked, looking back at a confused Shiro

"Where are we going?" he Shiro asked unsure.

Mephisto looked at him like he had just asked the most obvious question imaginable. "To meet Rin of course, I'm sure you're dying to see him aren't you?" he asked, and didn't even give Shiro time to pull himself together and simply walked away.

' _to see Rin?'_ he asked himself still a bit dizzy from everything he just learned. He didn't feel like he was ready to do anything.

' _You have to protect the Shiro. please'_ he remembered Yuri's words, and he quickly unfroze from his spot and followed closely behind, and adjusted his pace to match Mephisto's, and in no time at all he was right next to the clown.

"You didn't tell me he was here, this very moment!" he hissed, and Mephisto simply kept looking ahead.

"Of course not, I knew you wouldn't have stayed and listened if I had given away all my cards at the beginning would you? I imagine you would have gone off to find him on your own, and probably get yourself killed in the process." Mephisto mused.

Shiro huffed, and put his hands inside his deep pockets. "You forget who I am. I'm no longer that little boy from Asylum anymore." he exclaimed with confidence, but it only seemed to amuse Mephisto even more.

"You humans...you never change do you?" he chuckled and Shiro opened his mouth to argue, but then Mephisto stopped out of nowhere causing Shiro to bump again his back.

"You can at least have the decency to walk straight you-" Mephisto put his hand against his mouth, stopping him before he could finish his sentence. Shiro glared at him, and Mephisto simply looked back and put a finger against his own mouth signaling him to be quiet.

"He's here." he whispered, and Shiro's eye widened. His eyes looked around the hall but he couldn't see any signs of Rin, or anyone for that matter. Shiro looked back at Mephisto and used his eyes to communicate that he wasn't going to make a sound.

Mephisto looked at him for a little while longer, then put his hand down and wiped it against Shiro's clothes in disgust. Once clean he turned to face him, and grinned down at him. As if this was a moment to be amused by anything.

"Well shall I introduce you both?"

Shiro opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Mephisto looked up and Shiro followed suit. For a moment Shiro wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at until he finally saw it. In the ceiling hanging on one of the chandeliers was a boy around the same height as Yukio, but unlike Yukio this one had jet white hair and blue flamed horns sprouted from the top of his head, and a white tail with fire at the tip of it swishing from side to side, helping him keep his balance.

"We already know you're up there. Now won't you come down to say hi? You know it's considered very rude in this country to ignore guests when they come to your home!" Mephisto shouted, even though he didn't need to.

The boy didn't say anything and simply kept swishing his tail, then looked from Mephisto then slowly to Shiro, and that is when time seemed to stop.

So this was Rin? Yuri's oldest son, and Yukio's older twin brother, and the boy he failed to keep safe all those years ago? The boy he promised his best friend and the only woman he ever care for, to keep safe. Shiro knew it was pointless to sulk and feel bad for himself, and beat himself over his failures but boy was it hard to get of that state of mind. He felt like a failure, and like a weakling for not trying harder to keep Rin safe all those years ago.

" _Get yourself together,_ you won't achieve anything from sulking _. All you can do now is help Rin, and pray that it isn't too late for him yet.'_ He told chastised himself.

All of a sudden Shiro was snapped out of his thoughts, as the silence was broken by a low growl from Rin. Shiro looked away from Rin's flaming tail, and looked at his eyes which were wide open, and the flames around him flared up. For a split second Shiro felt the urge to take out his gun, even though he knew deep inside he would never hurt a son of Yuri.

Shiro and Rin kept staring at each other until Rin got bored of it, stopped growling at Shiro and let go of the chandeliers. Shiro's eyes followed Rin as he –nimbly, and gracefully as a cat- fell and landed right in front of him, on the balls of his feet, not even making any sound as he came in contact with the floor.

Rin was now face to face with him, but Shiro didn't flinch back from how close he was, or from the set of razor fangs that were being bared at him or the blue flames that were getting too warm for comfort. Shiro was too busy looking at Rin to really see the danger.

Shiro's eyes looked around Rin's face as he analyzed it. After fully looking at his entire face, he couldn't help but get a feeling of Déjà vu, and unease. Rin is the spitting image of Satan -well that technically meant that they looked exactly alike too, since he himself is a clone from the Azazel group which is the same group Satan got his body from. But all technicalities aside, Rin looked exactly like Satan did in his physical form, even more so with his jet white hair and flaming horns which were the same as Satan's. In fact there were no glaring similarities between Rin and Yuri that he could point out, that's how much he looked like his father.

Shiro narrowed his eyes and focused more on Rin's face. There had to be something he inherited from Yuri, there was just no way that Rin didn't hold some similarities to her. Shiro's eyes shifted to Rin's eyes which were blazing and glaring at him, and overall made him look more like Satan. Shiro moved his eyes down and noticed a few things that reminded him of Yuri, mostly around the cheeks but overall couldn't find anything that stood out and Shiro gave up. It seems that Rin just got too much from his father, while Yukio got too much from his mother.

Shiro took a tentative step back, and looked at Rin's entire face. Now that he was face to face with Rin, he could see what Mephisto pointed out. He could see the cold calculating eyes he had seen in countless demons and even humans. He could see the eyes of a killer on him, and that hurt him more than anything Rin or anyone could possibly do to him. To see what used to be such wondrous, and happy eyes turn into such murderous and cold eyes it hurt him, and all he wanted to do was fix them. He was convinced that underneath all that, there had to be the Rin he knew and he would fight for it to his last breath to get him back.

* * *

Author's notes: I read that some of you are unhappy with how weak Rin seems, and I'm here to explain why. I don't know if you guys have read the recent chapters, but if you remember it took Satan a whooping one year and three months to sort of form a personality (ego), and it was only after he got books that he truly learned who he was. Now Rin on the other hand, he is half human so he might be different than Satan, so in this story I'm making it so he's still finding who he is, and what he is so yes he has very childish traits but also, very dark traits so it's up to you to read and find out which one wins out in the end.

Also, as the story progresses you will find that Rin will change a lot, for the better or for the worse I can't say. But I will say it will be a bunch of uphill's and downhills with this story.

Also as a last note, I just want to say that if you read the recent manga chapters you will understand things a little bit more, but I do try to explain as we go along, but you know… it wouldn't hurt to keep up to date with the Blue exorcist manga.

And again i'm thankful for all the reviews so keep them coming ;)

So hope you liked it, please review and see you guys next time :D


	5. Chapter 5: Fateful encounters

Chapter 5

A fateful encounter

* * *

Rin was certain that if he saw another bloody painting of a pink dog he was going to lose it, and set the whole estate aflame. He had only spent one night at Mephisto's mansion, and though it was quite large and had loads to see, he already felt claustrophobic, and like a caged animal. He hated having to stay confined in one place, especially after spending an entire year at the Dominus. And now that he's come to True cross, he expected to have his first taste of freedom only to find out that he was spending another year confined indoors. It was unnatural to keep a demon locked up indoors all day, and so he longed to go outside and explore the world of Assiah, and experience the world he had only seen through the glass of the car before coming to Mephisto's mansion. Of course he could technically disobey Mephisto, since he technically doesn't hold any authority over him -none of the demon kings do- but he choose to take the clown's advice. It's true that he needs Mephisto's help in order to accomplish this mission, and perhaps he was right when he said that he shouldn't make enemies out of everyone he met. So he choose to lay low for a while, until he gained Mephisto's trust -to some extent- and then he'll do what he so pleased. And though it really irked him going from one of the most feared demon in Gehenna, and having an authoritative role, to become essentially a lap dog for Mephisto and Lucifer, he knew that this was the best plan of action, for now at least.

So when he had woken up in the middle of the night restless, and unused to sleeping during the night seeing as demons are nocturnal, he went straight to the library which Belial had shown him before going to his room. Rin was struck with awe once more after seeing the countless books laid neatly in rows upon their shelves. While on the Dominus he had never got the chance to learn and read whatever he wanted, and only read the books specifically chosen for him which frustrated him. He wanted to learn what he wished, and not what others deemed was important for him to learn. But now that he was gifted with this library, he could finally read what he wanted, and learn as he wished… but maybe not just yet.

Rin looked down at the sheet of paper given to him by Mephisto, and saw the thirty book titles written elegantly upon the sheet. He didn't have any interest in reading anything to do with exorcists, but if he wanted to become a teacher, and infiltrate True cross then he needed to suck it up and get to work.

He crumpled the sheet in his fist, and set it aflame. He didn't need the piece of paper anymore, he had memorised the titles with just one glance, and there was no need to keep carrying it around.

Rin opened his fist letting the ashes to fall to the ground, not caring that he was making a mess, and went straight to a shelve. Rin looked throw the books, and in no time found the first book he was assigned.

' _Demonology 101'_

He huffed and grabbed the thick book. He didn't need to learn anything more on demons, he grew up among demons and he is a demon, so educating himself on them was just a complete waste of time. And yet Rin went to one of the large tables, opened the book to the first page and got to work.

It didn't take him long to read the entire book, from cover to cover, in fact it only took him around an hour to finish it. It would have taken less time if he didn't stop every now and again to glower at the book in indignation. There were so many mistakes in the book, especially in the history section, that it made him wonder how on earth exorcist managed to defeat demons in the first place? If this book was indeed the first source of information regarding demons, then he seriously sympathised with the humans… well if he could feel such an emotion that is.

Rin closed the book and set it aside with disgust, and stood up to get the next few books. When the sun began to rise and rays of sunlight spilled over the library, hitting him straight in the face and making his white hair shine, Rin was already on the fifth book assigned to him. He barely looked up from the books he read, seeing as he was engrossed with reading especially when he got to the meister part. He wasn't at all happy of becoming an exorcist -the enemy of demons- but he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't excited about learning more on how to wield the katana. He already knew he would become a knight, seeing he has an affiliation to swords, but he was also, interested in learning the other classes like Dragoon. And since, a few especially gifted exorcist took more than one meister class then he didn't see why he couldn't.

And so on went Rin went reading as many books as he could. Mephisto had scuffed when he said he couldn't learn everything there was to learn to become an exorcist, but he had clearly underestimated him. He could, and will learn everything there was to learn to become an exorcist in a quarter of the time Mephisto said he would, and maybe then he won't need to rely on the clown.

After turning a page Rin heard footstep approaching, causing his ears to twitched. Rin looked up from the sixth book, and looked at the door just as it creaked open slowly. Belial walked inside the room, looking a little shaken as he approached Rin who was looking at the older demon with a sceptical expression.

When he was finally in front of Rin he bowed deeply. "Sire, king Samael has order me to come here to ask you to remain here studying." He declared, still bowed.

Rin huffed, and turned back to his book. "I'm already here aren't I? And besides I am not one of the clown's subordinates, I do what I please." Rin growled, and Belial shook slightly on the spot.

He knew that Belial feared him, it was clear from the moment he met him, which he should. He isn't some lowly demon, or any other demon king. He isn't the prince of Gehenna for nothing, he had to ear that title. Just because he is the son of Satan doesn't mean that everything was given to him on a silver platter. He had to work and suffer to get to where he was now, and to gain the respect he deserved from every single demon in Gehenna and Assiah, so he'll be damned if a domesticated demon like Belial didn't fear him.

"I understand sire, and I'm sorry if I disrespected you, but I must follow my king's command." Belial stammered slightly. "The king has also asked me to tell you that he is entertaining guest, and that he does not wish to be disturbed or for you to be seen."

Rin looked away from his book and down at Belial measuringly. He thought the old demon would be too scare to insist he stayed in the library, and what was this about guests? Belial surely didn't mean to trigger his curiosity, but he did, and now he just had to know who it was that was visiting the clown.

"Is that so?" he asked, closing the book and standing up and walking around the old demon who finally rose to his full height.

"I cannot allow you to get out of this room sire." Belial stammered, and Rin didn't so much as look back as he walked to the door, and out of the library.

He didn't even need to look back at to see if Belial was following, he knew he wasn't. Belial maybe loyal to Mephisto, but no demon is loyal, or foolish enough to get in his way, and it wasn't like he could in the first place.

Rin walked through the halls that were devoid of any living being. He knew of course that there were other inhabitants in the mansion apart from himself, Mephisto, and Belial. From the moment he arrived he could feel their presence, and he knew that all of them were low level demons and nothing to be worried about, but now he could feel a new presence, the presence of something akin to a human but not quite. Something that was strong enough to pose a concern, not to him of course, but to the mission. But most important of all, it felt like a presence that was oddly familiar.

Rin quickened his pace, and followed the odd, yet familiar scent. As he walked the scent got stronger and stronger, until he reached the doors to the dining area. Rin took a long whiff to see if he was indeed in the right place. The familiar smell of Mephisto, and the human, enter his nose and Rin didn't think twice trying to open the door. His hand pushed, but the door wouldn't budge, he tried to put his ear against the door to see if he could hear something, but nothing. Rin took a step back from the door, and looked up and down at it, and he could see the transparent ward clinging to the door. It seems that whoever was on the other side of this door was important enough that Mephisto didn't want Rin to see him.

Rin placed his palm flat on the door. He could easily take down the ward with just a little surge of his powers, and it would be easy. Rin took a long glance at the door, and put his hand down and stepped back and walked the other way. He was close to destroying the ward, but then he realized that Mephisto wouldn't help him if he didn't comply with him. He needed to get on the clown's good side if he was to receive any help from him, but that didn't mean there wasn't another way to get information. The familiar scent was to familiar, and odd to pass on. He needed to find out who this human was, and he knew how to do it.

Rin walked down the hall and stopped. He looked up at the ceiling, and saw the chandelier. He didn't think it twice as he crouched, and leaped in the air. It only took one jump for him to reach the chandelier, which shook as he grabbed it and very nearly fell from the weight, but Rin distributed his weight evenly with the help of his tail. He honestly didn't understand how humans could live without a tail, it was so useful and helped him keep his balance at the most difficult positions, making it easy for him to stay hanging on the chandeliers for a long while.

And so Rin waited for his target to arrive, not knowing that he was about to meet Shiro.

* * *

The very atmosphere around them felt cold as both Rin and Shiro stared at each other, neither of them even payed any attention to the clown who had a large smile plastered on his face, and was looking from one to another as if waiting for one to throw a punch.

"Oh Rin, nice of you to join us. This is Shiro Fu-"

"I know who he is!" Rin barked, not even looking back at Mephisto as he spoke, and kept looking at Shiro's bewildered face.

"What I want to know if what he's doing here?" Rin snarled at Shiro who didn't as much as move away from him, or from the flames that were beginning to spread around his body.

He despised surprises, and for that he was incredibly angry. He had been specifically ordered by Satan to stay away from Shiro, unless he posed a threat and had to be disposed of. And now here he was disobeying his father's orders, albeit inadvertently but his father wouldn't care, and he didn't want to know what would happen if he did find out. The last time he had disobeyed his father had been when he was a young child, and it was at that tender age that he learned to never defy him again, and the clown probably knew of that fact.

Rin bared one fang at Shiro finally snapping the old man from his trance and from observing him. Rin looked back at Mephisto who had his mouth open, but before he could speak the oddly familiar voice of Shiro resonated through the halls.

"I'm here to help out." Shiro answered, and Rin jerked his head to look back at the Paladin. "Mephisto told me you're in need of a teacher, so he's asked me become your mentor… Now I know I haven't-"

Rin's flames flared causing the room to get increasingly hotter, and Shiro to move back. "I don't care what the clown has asked you to do, or of your pitiful words for that matter. So unless you want me to kill you I suggest you get out of here fast while I still allow it." Rin snapped.

Silence fell, and Rin expected Shiro to run away like a whimpering dog like a sensible human. What he had not expected was for the old man to stand his ground, and look at him more determined than ever before.

Shiro took a step forward, and cringed from pain as the flames licked his arms. "I will not leave. I've waited fifteen years for this, and I refuse to give up now. So please hear me out." he practically pleaded at the end.

Rin looked at the old man in shock. A human wanted to help him, a demon? It was preposterous, and beyond the very nature of their species. Humans do not help demons, and demons do not help humans that was a natural law. Sure they used one another for their own selfish reasons, but they would never consciously agree to help one another. Not to mention the fact that he would never accept help from a human.

"You're really trying my patience old man. I don't care what you want, or your help, so go now before I do something I wont regret." he snarled, and bared his fangs to prove his point, but once more Shiro just stood his ground, and even straightened his back.

"I cannot do that." he declared without an ounce of doubt in his words.

Rin glared at Shiro, and the room's temperature seemed to drop considerably even though Rin was almost completely set aflame, and ready to burn the old man to a crisp.

Before he could do that however, Mephisto walked to where they stood. "How about we all calm down, hmm?" Mephisto sang, not at all affected by the standoff between Shiro and Rin. "This is the exorcist I brought to help you, and he's here by my order so like it or not you will have to get used to the idea of having him as a mentor."

Rin's eyes flew from Shiro to Mephisto.

Rin growled deeply at Mephisto, and his tail bristled along with the flames upon it. "I don't do what you say." he growled, and Mephisto grinned his usual toothy grin that only angered him more.

"And yet without my help you are lost on your own. So let's skip over this useless squabble, and start cooperating with each other." Mephisto said, with a smile.

Rin raised a brow, and turned away from Shiro as he completely disregarded him, and focused on his annoying older brother instead.

"Fine, if that's what you want then get rid of the human, and I'll cooperate." He spat, but Mephisto did not show any indication that he was even considering what he said.

"I won't get rid of him, so I'll propose something else. How about you accept Shiro's help, and you don't tell father anything, and I'll let you go outside… supervised of course." Mephisto proposed crossing his arms behind his back.

Rin's brows shoot up, and he looked at mephisto in shocked. For a brief moment he actually felt excited of the idea of getting to go to the outside world, but then he processed Mephisto's words, and his flames raged even hotter causing Shiro to jump back.

"What makes you think I need your permission?" he barked angrily, but Mephisto didn't even appear at all affected by his anger and simply continued to smile.

"The fact you haven't gone outside yet?" he asked mockingly, and Rin clenched his teeth. It wasn't a good idea to lose his patience now, seeing as he needs the clown, but at this very moment that proved to be harder than he thought possible.

"I'm not some dog you can command! I am the prince of Gehenna and if I so wanted to I could kill you anytime I want, you stupid clown." he roared.

Mephisto smiled, and bent his back a little to look straight at Rin's eyes not at all afraid of the flames.

"It really irks you to not have any command over others doesn't it?" he beamed, but his smile was devoid of any amusement.

Rin formed his hands into fists, and growled at the clown. He was so incredibly tempted to put the clown in his place, that he required all of his will to stop himself from giving in to temptation.

' _You still need him'_ he kept repeating to himself, while Mephisto kept looking at him with the same annoying grin.

Mephisto moved back, and waved his hands dismissively. "Well, I admit that you're right. I don't hold any commanding power over you, but having a mutual agreement means listening to me and taking my advice... Also, you should know that I won't help you unless you follow order."

Rin growled even louder, and he clenched his fists even harder causing his claws to puncture his palms.

' _You need the damn clown!'_ he practically screamed to himself as he glared holes at Mephisto, but the more he said it the more he wanted to rip his smug head from his neck.

Rin took a step forward, but before he could take another step Shiro spoke up again. "Like I said before I can help you Rin. I'm well versed in every meister class, and I can teach you knowledge not known to most exorcist. Knowledge you can't find in book."

Rin stopped advancing towards Mephisto and looked back at Shiro with disgust. "I don't need help from a human!" Rin growled. Before Shiro could say anything more Rin turned his back to him and walked away. Unless he wanted to really hurt Mephisto and kill Shiro who wasn't his target...yet, then he was better off removing himself from the situation. He was no coward of course, but he wasn't foolish enough to throw away his chances to complete the mission either.

Rin walked down a few steps down the hall before Shiro spoke up again.

"How about learning about your past? How you ended up in your father's hands, and about your mother?" Rin stopped dead on his tracks, and turned his head partially as he looked back at Shiro who looked almost desperate now. "I know your father wouldn't speak to you about her or your past, but I could if you let me help you." he pleaded this time

' _Pitiful'_ he thought to himself, but he couldn't deny that he wasn't intrigued. He knew next to nothing about his past, and much less of his mother. His father had never been one to share old memories with him, or about his mother for that matter, and if Shiro really did know something because he was there, then he could finally fit in the final pieces to the mystery of his past. But despite his intrigue, he couldn't trust someone like Shiro, how would he even know if he wasn't lying in the first place?

"What could a human like you know of my father?" he asked with a growl, and Shiro looked almost amused at the question

"The very human who met him when he had the thought process of a five year old, and could barely even speak let alone take care of himself. So yes I know quite a bit about Sa-"

In a blink of an eye Rin lunged for Shiro's throat, grasping it with one hand and clenching tightly, but still allowing his to breath.

"Don't defile his name with your tongue!" he snarled, and Shiro grabbed his hand with both of his but Rin's hold wouldn't budge.

"Rin" Mephisto warned, but Rin didn't even hear the words. All of his attention was on Shiro, whose face was turning redder by the second.

Rin's face moved closer to Shiro's, and stared right at his eyes. "I don't trust you Shiro Fujimoto. I know very well who you are, and of your skills and background, but all of that is inconsequential. I could end your pathetic life in mere seconds if I wanted to, paladin or not. Even the clown won't be able to save you."

Rin tightened his grip to prove his point, and Shiro attempted to take a breath but couldn't. Shiro then proceeded to move his hands from Rin's hand, and for a moment he thought the old man was going to reach for a gun and seal his fate, but what he did astonished him.

Shiro rested his arms by his body, and simply stood limply as he coughed for air, but didn't struggle out of Rin's hold. Rin looked at him shocked and his grip faltered for a second, only to get even tighter as he growled at Shiro who coughed. The old man was playing tricks on him by acting the innocent victim, and he wouldn't fall for those tricks. But then Rin looked at his eyes, and he felt a strange emotion that felt familiar yet alien.

"Rin." Mephisto warned, all joking set aside as he took a step closer, but Rin paid no attention to him.

"That being said, if I learn that you have lied to me or that your usefulness has expired, I won't think twice about killing you, do you understand?" he growled, and Shiro slowly nodded, and Rin let him go. Shiro fell to his knees and took a big gulp of air, while Rin turned around without looking down at him, and extinguished all off all of his flames.

Rin looked at Mephisto who was no longer smiling, but still not quite serious either. "I'll be in the library reading if you need Me." he declared as he turned around and walked away.

"Oh, and you better give me another list Mephisto because I'll be done with the one you gave me before the day ends." He called back not even looking back at either demon or human he left behind.

* * *

Author's notes: So a really short chapter compared to the others, but i really wanted to focus on Rin's and Shiro's meeting so i had to make it short. Also, the story is going along quite nicely now, and Rin and Yukio will soon get to meet each other :)

Also, you got to see Rin's sort of evil side here but i warn you that it were only grazed the surface folks, there's still much to come, but there will also be a good side to him -he is after all human even if he buries it deep.

So hope you liked this chapter, please review, and see you next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6: Another Todo

Chapter 6

Another Todo

* * *

"Wrong. Start from the top."

Rin gave out a frustrated growl and clenched his hand into fist. Beads of sweat were sliding down his face in large numbers, and his cheeks had a tinge of red upon them. His chest was moving up and down as he took in large gulps of air, and his tail swung gently from side to side. His hair was utterly disheveled, and damp from sweat which cause it to slop slightly onto his eyes. The sun's rays were shining straight unto the side of his face and his body causing him to overheat, and the reason as to why he had taken off his shirt long ago, leaving him with only his shorts and shoes.

Just with one glance of him anyone would easily notice how tired he was, and how done with the heat he really was, and who could blame him seeing as he had spent almost an entire day outdoors practicing his katas. He didn't really remember how this torture began, all he remembered was that the previous evening he had gone to Shiro and more or less ordered him to train him harder on the katana. It had been five months since he first met Shiro and since he had taken the old man as his mentor. Five months was quite a bit, but to Rin it felt like a mere breath as he spent it all training and studying, and in all that time he had managed to learn every piece of material Mephisto had assigned him. And though he was proud on his achievement, and his ability to learn quickly and with ease, every time he went to shove his achievement at the Clown's face he simply dismissed him and assigned him more material to read and study which only angered Rin. It wasn't that he didn't like learning or studying, it was that longed to do something other than reading and studying which is where Shiro came in.

"Stop."

Rin snapped out of his thoughts, and stopped immediately after hearing the command. His eyes shifted to where Shiro was standing and saw that the old man was approaching him. Shiro slowly circled him, and inspected his form, not once looking up to meet his gaze.

"Your feet are slightly off axis" Shiro declared, and Rin growled in frustration. He had been performing the same form for hours now, what did it matter if his feet were slightly off axis?

"And what does that matter? It's not like I'll lose a battle due to something so unnoticeable and trivial." he groaned and was about to lower his katana and start again when Shiro moved as quick as lightning and swept his feet from under him.

Rin fell to the ground with a soft thump, and a low huff as he landed on his elbow and lost the grip on his katana. The fall hadn't hurt one bit, but it had shocked him a bit and confused him long enough for Shiro to kick his katana away from his reach and for him to point his own wooden katana to his neck.

"Don't underestimate the slightest mistakes Rin. A mere inch can be the dividing factor between winning and losing a fight, especially when faced against skilled opponents." He declared, and Rin huffed in indignation at the old man as he glared at the katana.

Shiro looked straight at Rin and after a few second of silence the tip of his lips quirked up into a smile. "And let's not mention that it would look incredibly embarrassing to see the prince of Gehenna be sent to the ground by a mere old man." Shiro teased.

Rin growled and pushed Shiro's wooden katana with the tip of his fingers which he allowed. Rin then leaped up to his feet, and walked to where his own katana had been thrown.

"You can't even put a scratch on me old man." he shoot back as he bent down to pick up his katana.

Shiro smirked, and chuckled. "You talk big for a prince who had be sent to the ground merely minutes ago by an old man." he teased, and Rin turned around to face him and rested his katana on his shoulder as he titled his head in annoyance.

"Hahaha very funny, now can we get back to training?" he asked annoyed. Of course he knew of the old Paladin's sense of humour, and immature nature. How could he not? It didn't really amuse him, but it didn't annoy him as much as it used to when he had first met him, but then again everything about him used to put him on edge when he had first met him.

Rin looked straight at Shiro. He remembered how his first lessons went, and he almost grinned wickedly when he remembered how he more or less threw blazing books at Shiro who struggled to dodge them all, and therefore burnt parts of his eyebrows. And to top it all, he remembered Mephisto's shocked face when he saw his library aflame, and in shambles. Once more Rin grinned at the memory, and even though he didn't really recall the reason why he had thrown the books at Shiro, it still amused him greatly.

Shiro shrugged, and clapped his own wooden katana against his palm. "If you're up for it, or rather if your ego is up to it." Shiro teased, gaining a growl from Rin.

"I'll show you old m-"

Before he complete the sentence, Shiro lunged at him as quickly as he did before, leaving Rin little amount of time to bring up his own Katana. Rin grimaced, realizing that he had to cheat a little in order to not get hit straight in the head -after all he maybe a demon, but that would hurt. Rin used his demon full reflexes to bring up his katana meeting Shiro's halfway on the air creating a loud bang that emanated through the forest. Rin looked up for a second and saw how the Katana was just a hair away from touching his scalp.

Shiro smiled, and Rin looked back at him. "Cheater." Shiro chuckled, and Rin smiled wickedly.

"The pot calling the kettle black. You didn't warn me prior to attacking, and here I thought you humans had a sense of honour." He mocked.

Shiro grinned, and pushed back from Rin, sending them both skidding back from one another. They both looked straight at the other, as they both brought their katana's up, ready for anything. Rin's grip on his own katana tightened as he waited for Shiro to make his first move, his hands sweating in anticipation as he waited. He'd be lying if he said wasn't slightly on edge as he waited. Of course if this were a real fight, and he really wanted to kill the old man, then there would be nothing to be on edge for, in fact he could easily burn him to a crisp in matter of seconds, but this was not a real fight. He was holding back on his powers, as well as his full physical strength and agility seeing as he was naturally stronger than Shiro due to his demon nature. Rin grimaced a bit. He didn't like lowering himself to human level, but he needed to in order to fight Shiro.

A few months ago when he had been uneasy and practiced on one of Mephisto's trees, he had burnt it to the ground as well as a big part of the clown's garden which he wasn't happy about. So after that Shiro agreed to teach him, and train him on how to use the katana. But after a month of training, Rin got restless once more. He wanted a real opponent, and that was when Shiro agreed to spar him but under one condition. That he would have to use half of his physical strength, and therefore fight on the level of a human. At first Rin thought that was stupid, and a waste of his time seeing as he couldn't use his full strength, but then Shiro changed his mind by telling him that what he wanted to teach him was how to fight and wield a sword, not how to use his strength which he knew he was already quite good at. And though it angered him to say so, Shiro was right. Maybe he could beat any human due to his demon strength, and agility, but if met with a demon adversary or someone who had the strength of a demon -somehow- then he would be at a disadvantage. So that is when he agreed to put his ego aside, and focus on learning how to wield the katana, as well as other ways of fighting.

" _You won't always be at an advantage Rin. You're powerful, but you can't always rely on brute strength to get you out of trouble. What if you somehow lost your powers, or were unable to use them for whatever reason… what would you do then?"_ Shiro had told him, and though he scoffed at the idea of somehow losing his powers, he did agree that he couldn't possibly rely purely on them. Like Shiro had said, he maybe powerful but his flames and brute strength weren't the only weapons he had, and if he was to pass of as an exorcist teacher then he needed to act and fight like an exorcist teacher no matter how much he wanted to puke at the idea. Heck even other demon kings knew how to fight without their powers, so why couldn't he? Yes maybe he was lowering himself to the human's level, but this was something he had to do. And it wasn't like Shiro was weak, quite the opposite. For an old man Rin was impressed to see that Shiro was quite strong, stronger than most humans in fact, seeing how he almost matched his agility even when he used his full strength, and awareness. It was quite impressive in fact for a human, but then again Shiro wasn't just human was he? He was after all a nephilim and therefore slightly above normal humans. So Rin supposed that after a whole lifetime of training, and the fact that he is a nephilim then it made sense that he could match him in agility.

Rin opened his mouth to say something, but as soon as his lips so much as moved, Shiro lunged barely giving him a chance to react once more.

Rin angled his katana in order to parry the blow, which he was thankful to be able to do despite having little time to response. Rin's lips quirked a little as he looked at the old man defiantly, but his small victory was short lived as Shiro separated their swords, and angled his katana at an awkward angle and made to hit him on the ribs, until Rin managed to re angled his own katana and block the blow which would surely hurt. Rin looked down at both swords and saw how Shiro's was trembling slightly from how much force he was putting behind it, and though any other time Rin would have pushed even harder and cause Shiro to lose his grip, Rin didn't and instead he pulled back the mount of force he was putting behind his own sword and Shiro stopped trembling.

' _This isn't about beating him with brute strength, but about beating him with skills.'_ He told himself, and with that he growled and pushed Shiro away from him, giving him an opening which Rin exploited. Rin rolled the katana expertly around his writs, and brought it down hard on a slashing motion towards Shiro's stomach who didn't even make any motion to block. Rin's lips twitched upwards a little too prematurely. He thought he had him, and that there was no way Shiro could parry or block now. After months of training he could finally taste victory for the first time. However, just as he was about to slash Shiro's stomach Rin felt something curling around his ankle. Rin's eyes looked down, and just as he realized what was happening he felt the object hit him across the ankle harshly, causing his feet to be swept from under him and therefore fall on his back with a loud thump, causing the dry mud to rise up in a puff.

Rin groaned, and puffed out a bit of bit mud that had gotten inside his mouth. He laid on the ground looking up at the trees, and the silhouette of the shadows, he clenched his fists in anger, paying little attention to his throbbing ankle.

Rin clenched his teeth in anger. He hated losing. He hated being beaten at something he should be good at, and being bested by a mere human. He was the son of Satan after all, and therefore any failure whatsoever was unacceptable. He was supposed to thrive at everything put in front of him no matter what, and even though he didn't expect to beat Shiro the first time around, he was angry that it had been so many months and he still hadn't managed to put a scratch on him.

"I will beat you old man." He growled, and Shiro didn't so much as flinch. He simply looked at him with the same cocky grin.

"You still have a long ways to go if you're to beat me I'm afraid. Because even with one hand I think I can beat you." He teased, and Rin growled deeply in warning, but unlike every time he got angry his flames didn't spread out.

Shiro chuckled one last time and cleared his throat and adopted a more serious look. "But you know there's more to it than winning? It's about learning, and learning from your mistakes. Winning or losing doesn't matter, in fact your brother Yukio has never beaten me once, and I've been training him since he was a little kid. So I'd be shocked if you could beat me in matter of months, I mean-" Shiro stopped suddenly as he looked at Rin.

Rin looked at him coldly, and bared his teeth in warning. "Don't compare me to that four eyes." He warned, clenching his fists tightly, anger seeping into him.

It was not secret to anyone, especially Shiro that he disliked Yukio. He didn't really hate him, but he disliked him enough to not want to hear anyone speak his name and much less compare him to him. The four eyes -no matter how great of an exorcist he maybe- is human, and even though they're twins, they are in no way shape or form brothers, because as far he knew he only had eight siblings. And though Yukio is technically his only true brother, Yukio is human, and therefore beneath him in every way, so he refused to see the four eyes as his younger brother, and much less let anyone compare him to him. The only ones in fact that seemed foolish enough to bring up his name in front of him were Mephisto and later on Shiro, who he was annoyed was getting more and more comfortable around him. He didn't want Shiro to think that just because he stopped antagonizing him, that he could all of a sudden speak his mind in front of him and give him life lessons. Shiro wasn't his father, no matter how much he thought he was.

"If you insist." Shiro sighed, as Rin slowly stood up and wiped the dust of his short.

"I'm getting tired of this, we've been at it since five in the morning, and the sun's already setting. I've held my part of the bargain. I haven't killed you today, so now you have to take me to the academy." He declared as he walked to where his shirt was and slowly put it on.

Shiro tapped his katana against his shoulder as if thinking about what Rin said. "It is kind of late now." He mused, and Rin growled at him in warning.

After a little while of thinking about it, Shiro shrugged and threw the katana at Rin which he caught without even looking. "But then again, I do like staying alive so I suppose we can take a short walk around the academy."

Rin had to refrain from grinning like a fool at the idea of going to the academy. He loved going there, even if he had to be supervised at all times by Shiro it was worth it. He was intrigued by Assiah, even though it is the human world, he thought it was interesting, and vastly more different than Gehenna. Of course Mephisto knew this, which is why he used academy outings as a treat for when he behaved well and didn't burn anything in his vicinity. And of course Rin hated the fact that the clown was treating him like a child, but he couldn't complain and risk the clown taking away his only chance to see the world.

Rin gathered all his belongings, and walked past Shiro not even looking back at him.

"Alright let's go then." He said simply as they both walked out of the forest.

* * *

"You should buy it, I think it's pretty cool." Shiro mused, as Rin looked behind a shop window with his hand plastered on the glass and his nose almost touching said glass.

They were in the middle of the academy town square, where all the shops and little restaurants were situated. Countless of humans walked the streets, most of them young around Rin's age, and most of them students. There were a few teachers here and there, and a few -Rin noticed- exorcists who blended in well with the rest of the humans. At first he was shocked to learn that True cross wasn't just a school for exorcists, but a school for all kinds of disciplines including human ones, like Doctor, political science, and art to name a few. He thought only exorcists trained at True cross, and he was even more shocked to learn that not only is that not the case, but they were actually hiding from the rest of the humans. When he had first set foot in Assiah he assumed every human knew what demons were, and that they all lived in fear of them, but he soon learned that was not the case. So in order to keep the secrets that demons do in fact exist, he had to hide all evidence that he was one, by shamefully hiding his tail just like Mephisto did his. At first he was annoyed and indignant of hiding his own tail, and appear human to others, but then Mephisto told him he wouldn't be able to go if he couldn't so he had to furiously agree to the terms. He didn't understand why a demon should hide his tail so shamefully, as if they were ashamed of what they were, and though he understood why a few might seeing as it's a weakness they didn't want exploited, he didn't understood why Mephisto -a powerful demon in his own right- would do so at the comfort of his own home. Even Lucifer who was leagues stronger than Mephisto yet weak with illness, never hid his tail even when around the rest of the Illuminati. But then again, Lucifer was the only clear exception to the rule, and that was because: who would be mad enough to even attack Lucifer, much less exploit his tail as a weakness?

Rin tightened his tail around his torso, stopping himself from swinging it back and forth as he was used to. At that point he didn't care that he was hiding his nature. Nothing of importance mattered at the moment. Not the humans. Or demons, or how he should behave. All that mattered was whether he should buy the figurine standing on a shelf inside a shop.

"But it's expensive." he murmured, and Shiro huffed behind him from frustration.

"Who cares! You're rich, what's a few yen doing to do?" He exclaimed.

Rin scoffed and shifted his eyes to look at Shiro who had his hands deep inside his trench coat pockets, and not at all fazed by the heat. It was still hot out despite being night time, and that was because it was the beginning of summer, something Rin found annoying. His flames and heat don't go well together. It was like putting heat with more heat, and seeing as he was at the mercy of Mother Nature he couldn't really use his flames as often, lest he overheats. That's why Rin preferred the winter, where he could use his flames as he pleased and not worry about overheating, and even used them to keep himself warm without the need of coats and jackets.

"Thank you for being the voice of reason, I really appreciate that." he scoffed, and Shiro looked at him with mock shock.

"I am the voice of reason! I'm advising you to spend the Illuminati's money, in fact I think you should spend it all in one go. Spend every single yen and leave them with nothing." He proposed, and Rin rolled his eyes at him.

"Very funny." He grumbled, and stepped away from the glass with every intention to walk away, even though every part of him told him to go back and buy the figurine. Ever since he had seen Mephisto's large collection of figurines, and mangas as well as various other things, Rin had been interested in them and so he attempted to touch one of Mephisto's beloved figurine's only to be smacked on the head by the clown. He wanted a figurine of his own, one that he could touch and keep in his room to admire.

"I'm serious Rin, it's not as expensive as you think and even if it is, shouldn't you have the opportunity to buy what you want? If the Illuminati simply wanted you to survive they'd give you the minimum amount of money, but no. They gave you more money than most kids your age, so enjoy it." Shiro argued, as Rin turned away from the shop to face the old exorcist.

Rin sighed, and placed his hands on his hips. "I'm not sure…" he drawled. He wished Shiro would just tell him that the figurine was far too expensive and tell him not to buy it, rather than keep encouraging him to buy the damn figurine like the bad influence he is.

' _It is a cool figurine.'_ A treacherous voice in his head said, and Rin nearly turned around and run into the shop to buy it before he came to his senses but then he realized that the Illuminati might be keeping tabs on his back account, and Homare could tell Lucifer if he started spending his money on stupid things.

Rin sighed, and put his hands inside his pockets and walked away from the shop, passing Shior without looking at him.

"Are you sure you won't buy it?" Shiro asked, turning around to face Rin's back, but not following him as he walked away.

Rin waved him away dismissively. "It's just a dumb figurine."

Shiro hummed, still not making any signs of wanting to follow Rin who was slowly getting out of range. "To bad, it's one of a kind. Even Mephisto would be jealous" He pondered softly, but Rin could easily hear him

Rin stopped dead on his track, one foot still in the air, and he slowly turned around to face the shop.

"One of a kind?" he asked unsure, and Shiro grinned and nodded.

"Yup, one of a kind. You'll never see another one like this one anywhere else." Shiro declared.

Rin bit the bottom of his lips, as he thought about it once more. The figurine was expensive, but then again if he did buy it he'll have something even the clown doesn't have, something he'd be jealous of. Something he could wave in front of his stupid face, and laugh.

Rin growled, and walked back to the shop and glared at Shiro who was grinning like a Cheshire cat as he passed him.

"I hate you." He growled, and entered the shop with Shiro following closely behind

After spending a few minutes speaking with the shopkeeper, and making sure that the figurine was indeed one of a kind, Rin ultimately choose to get it. The shopkeeper grinned pleasantly and took the figurine to the counter and Rin paid for it, his heart squeezing slightly as he paid a ridiculous amount.

After buying the figurine, and placing inside a bag Shiro and Rin left the shop with Rin unsure as to how to feel. On one side he was happy he got something for himself, but on the other hand he was worried the Illuminati would be angry at him for wasting their money.

"That smells so good!" Shiro exclaimed, snapping Rin out of his thoughts and looking at the old man who was making his way towards a food stand.

Rin shook his head, and followed the old man who was already talking to the man selling what appeared to be some kind of meat on a stick. Shiro smiled, and gave the man a coin and took two of the stick and offered one to Rin who looked at it sceptically.

"This is yakitori, its skewered chicken and one of my favourite foods. Try it" he encouraged as he took a bite of his, and closed his eyes relishing the taste.

Rin looked down at his own stick and turned it from side to side, and took a long whiff. It certainly smelled good, but would he like it? There was only one way to find out.

Rin took a small tentative bite and his brows instantly shoot up. It tasted really good! The chicken was rather simple really, but the combination of spices made his mouth water. Rin turned the stick and wolfed down the chicken with just two bites.

"Hahaha, you might wanna slow down, you'll give everyone the impression that you haven't eaten in days." Shiro reprimanded with a smile on his face, but Rin didn't listen and instead bought ten more from the man.

After eating twenty more, and being pleasantly full Shiro said goodbye to the happy shopkeeper, and they both kept walking about the town square without a set destination.

They both walked in silence, relishing the quiet and looking around the square, until Shiro cleared his throat and Rin looked up at him.

"I was talking to Mephisto yesterday after training." Shiro commented, and Rin arched a brow. Shiro didn't often shared the conversations he had with the clown, he probably deemed them top secrete and something Rin didn't need to know. That and the fact that they probably spoke about him.

"What did you and that clown talk about?" he asked intrigued as they continued to walk down the streets that were getting more and more full with people.

Shiro didn't answer right away, which annoyed Rin. "We think you've made a big improvements with blending in with humans, and keeping your flames under control even when angered… so I proposed taking you away from True cross." He said simply, and Rin stopped dead in his tracks.

He couldn't leave true cross, even though he yearned to see the world. He needed to spy on True cross, something that would be impossible if he was away from True cross.

' _But you haven't even found anything of interest this past couple of years and you've been in the centre of true cross all this time.'_ The treacherous voice in his head said.

"Where to?" he asked intrigued, and Shiro turned to face him with an unsure expression which Rin found odd.

"Well, you'd be under my watch at all times so I'll have to take you with me to the monastery. But don't fret it won't be as boring as you might think. I've gotten permission to take you with me on missions, and train you on the field, so you'll have some experience exorcising." He proposed, and Rin would be lying if he wasn't intrigued.

"I-"

"Shiro!" a voice called out from afar, causing both Rin and Shiro to turn around. A man of average height was making his way towards him. He was wearing a black suit, and a watch glinted on his wrist. He had a roundish face, with short hair that had streaks of white's on the side. A pair of glasses sat on his nose that glinted with the lights on the town square.

"Ah, Saburota how are you." Shiro called back, as the man called Saburota stopped in front of them with a smile.

"Not bad, I actually just got back from a mission with Yukio as I suspect you know." The man said, and Shiro nodded, while Rin froze after hearing the name. Yukio? That weakling was going on missions? Rin felt a pang of jealously and anger. the four eyes was already going on exorcist missions on his own, while Rin hasn't so much as seen another demon apart from the ones in Mephisto's state.

Shiro smiled, and put his hand on his hips adopting a more relaxed posture. "Yes of course, how did that go?" He asked amiably.

"Flawlessly as ever. That son of yours is quite something, only fifteen years old and he's already leagues better than most exorcists twice his age. I can't wait and see what time makes of him, I can already guarantee he'll be paladin someday in fact." Saburota exclaimed and Shiro chuckled, while Rin clenched his teeth in anger. He wasn't jealous of such a weak four eyes, he wasn't! He is the prince of Gehenna for crying out loud! That damn human wasn't even worth standing on his shadow

"Hahaha, yes he's quite something that boy, but don't tell him that, we don't want it to go to his head." Shiro beamed, and Saburota nodded agreeing with Shiro.

"Of, course of course…." Saburota agreed, and his eyes slowly shifted to Rin. Rin met the man's eyes, and noticed that his eyes widened briefly and almost unnoticeably making him wonder if he had seen it.

Saburota smiled and turned his body to face Rin. "Oh, and who's this?" he asked looking from Shiro to Rin in intrigue.

Shiro took a step towards Rin, and put his hand on his shoulder which Rin had to fight the urge to growl at him for being too familiar with him. "This here is Rin, a recruit of Mephisto's and an apprentice I took on. He's going to be taking his exorcist exam in a month, and will be teaching demonology at the start of term." He declared, and Rin had to hold the urge to inflate his chest from the way the man was aweing at both Shiro and him.

' _This isn't a competing between me and that damn four eyes!'_ he kept telling himself.

Saburota chuckled and shook his head. "My Shiro, is it your goal to create an elite exorcist branch? First Shura, then Yukio and now this young man? You're full of surprises old friend." he said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled, amiably but Rin caught something strange in him. Rin eyed the man closely, his inner struggle dissipating as he felt something strange. He seemed like a very shy, and overall socially awkward man, but for some reason Rin sense something odd, as if the way he behaved was just an act and that made him weary.

Saburota looked at him, and Rin saw a flash of knowing in his eyes, as if he knew what he was thinking as well as amusement. Rin furrowed his brows. He had to be careful with this human he thought.

Saburota closed his eyes briefly, and the strange look was gone and instead he looked at Rin with the same amiable look. "But where are my manners? Name's Saburota Todo, nice to meet you." he greeted, extending his hand which Rin looked at with shook and scepticism.

A Todo? He had never met another Todo before. Could it be he was related to Homare Todo? Rin inspected the man once more. They did sort of lookalike especially with the glasses, and his scent was similar to Homare's so maybe they were related? But then that left the question that if they were related, did he know Homare is part of the Illuminati and therefore his enemy? He couldn't know for sure, but he did know that he didn't trust him.

"Rin, just Rin." he said stoically, as he grasped Todo's hand harshly on purpose and shook it.

Todo grimace, but didn't complain as he smiled at him, while Rin felt Shiro glaring holes at him for being too rough.

"Nice to meet you Rin." he said pleasantly.

Todo continued to hold on to his hand for a little while longer, making it awkward, until suddenly Todo released his hand and stepped away. "It really was nice seeing you Shiro, and you as well Rin but I really gotta get going, I have to start making my lesson plan for the upcoming school year. I'll be teaching advance seals in first year as always on the second floor, so don't hesitate to come by someday Rin I'll be happy to help you out with classes." he said amiably, and waved them goodbye before Rin could ask him anything.

"Bye Saburota." Shiro waved back.

Saburota kept waving until he disappeared among the crowd. Rin's eyes narrowed as he looked at the direction he disappeared. He really didn't like that man; there was something he couldn't quite place about him.

"I'll go with you to the monastery tomorrow." He said suddenly, and Shiro turned to face him shocked.

"Oh? I thought you'd say no? Even Mephisto wager you'd say no, so why the interest?" he asked intrigued, and Rin simply kept looking at the direction Todo left.

"Like you said, I need to become an exorcist and as much as I hate the thought, there's only a few months until the start of term, and I need to be ready." He lied.

He couldn't simply tell Shiro that he needed to get off his ass and start applying his new earned skills. He couldn't tell him that he refused to allow the four eyes leave him in the dust, or be beaten by a mere human. He is the prince of Gehenna and therefore refused to be beat by anything or anyone.

* * *

Sorry this chapter has taken so long :( I've been busy with school and exams, and final assignments so i couldn't really write :( and with co-writing a D-gray man fic with my friend that i recommend reading called Innocence.

But anyways, I hoped you liked seeing Rin's more childish side, as well as his cute curiosity towards everything, he kinda reminds me of a green haired demon. So anyways, we haven't really seen Yukio in a while, and i feel like it's time he came to center stage and start being a part of this story which is why next chapter you guys will finally get to see the meeting between the two.

So i hope you liked this chapter, please review, and see you next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7: Reunions

Chapter 7

Reunions

* * *

"Going to change your mind?" Shiro asked his tone one of amusement.

Both Rin and Shiro were standing in front of an older, wooden building. Rin looking up at it, his expression one of hesitation while Shiro had a wide smile plastered on his lips, looking at the building with pride.

Last night, after they had made their way back to Mephisto's estate they had told the clown that Rin took their proposition and that he'd be going to the monastery. At first, the clown had been a little shocked, but then Rin watched in exasperation, and annoyance as that changed to one of joy, happy that he'd no longer had to house him and therefore stop any further damage to his home. It's not like he was an uncontrollable animal, but Mephisto seemed to think otherwise as he practically kicked him out the door the next day. He had been angry and rightly so, but at the same time, he was excited that he'd finally get to see the outside world, even though he was technically being transferred from one prison to another.

They rode to the monastery -with Shiro being the driver- while Beleth followed them closely enough to remain hidden, but close enough to keep a watchful eye over him. Lucifer did order him to watch over him, and so despite him going to the monastery that wasn't going to change. Of course, the old demon knew he wouldn't be able to stay by his side and that he'd have to keep his distance, lest the exorcist noticed him, not that it mattered really. He knew Beleth could protect himself, what really concerned him was blowing his cover.

It was nearly hours later that they reached their destination. Shiro had proposed to simply use one of Mephisto's keys and get to the monastery in a matter of seconds. However, Rin refused. He was finally let out of his prison, so he was adamant of letting a trip get by him. He wanted to see the scenery, no matter how stupid and childish that might sound, and even though he had watched out the window the whole time, his tail wagging from one side to the other like a dog he didn't care. When Beleth had driven him from the Illuminati headquarters to True cross they took the most boring path possible, wanting to avoid as much attention as possible. However, with this trip, it had been different. Shiro took a more direct path to the monastery, passing through towns, a few smaller cities and overall more interesting scenic views. For once since he'd met the old man, he was actually grateful.

It was almost night time when they arrived, the sun setting over the buildings, buildings Rin had awed at, much to Shiro's amusement.

Everywhere he looked there were so many humans, more so than in True cross, and not only that but there were so many different people. From very old to very young, Rin had watched them from behind the window, his eyes taking everything in. However, just as there were a lot of humans there were also a lot of demons. Ranging from coal tars -which were quite a few, floating around the city- to Koks which hid around in alleyways, and barely visible. But Rin could see them all, and as the car passed by them he watched at they would stop and stare. The more they drove the more demons he saw, and he was confused to see that most demons he encountered were Astaroth's kin. He knew the king of rot was on their side, but he was volatile and rebellious, which meant he couldn't trust him. Whatever his brother was doing here, he doubted it was under their father's order and much less Lucifer's. Astaroth and the king of light never got along because Astaroth would refuse his brother's orders, but with Satan, it was different as it was with everything else.

After they finally reached the monastery, and Shiro parked a little further away, Rin practically jumped out of the car, his knees aching to be stretched. He took in a deep breath, taking in the city's many smells. He then made sure that his tail was wrapped around his torso, and that was when he felt it. Various eyes staring at him, causing the hairs at the back of his neck to stand on end.

Seeing as there hadn't been anyone around, he looked back and snarled at the demons hiding in an alleyway, his eyes flaring with blue flames. Instantly the demons comically jumped like cats and scrambled off without so much as a look back. As if proud of himself Rin huffed and turned away, to follow Shiro to the monastery his face one of clear amusement.

"Well, I suppose that stops our demon problem." Shiro had mused, but Rin didn't say anything, as he looked up at the monastery, realization hitting him like a train.

For the first time in his life he was going to meet his brother, and he didn't know what to feel about that.

Yukio, his younger twin brother was someone he'd grown up hearing about from his father, and not in a very good light. From how he was human, to how weak he was and a disgrace to their kind, Rin had grown up with a dislike for his brother even though he didn't know him. All his life he had thought about it this way, until quite recently. Interestingly enough, Yukio didn't know anything about him, he didn't even know they were related and much less that he was Satan's son. But regardless, after coming to Assiah he began to question why he was angry at him, he didn't even know him, had never even spoken to him so he found it a waste of effort to dislike his brother. He thought after making up his mind that he would keep his feelings on his brother neutral, he would neither like nor dislike him that was until yesterday. After learning he was a successful exorcist Rin had been -for a lack of a better word- jealous, and how could he not? His brother is nothing, he'd grown up hearing those words. He's merely an important piece on the board, he had no right being better than him at anything, not after it was he who had to suffer, who was forced to give away h-

"It's alright to be scared you know."

Rin flinched on the spot, his train of thoughts broken as he looked at Shiro. The old man was looking at him, his eyes slightly crinkled at the edges and his lips formed into a thin line. He was looking at him with a knowing expression, and Rin didn't know how to respond. Usually, any hesitation he had was met with hostility, this acceptance was new to him.

For a brief moment, he looked at Shiro almost confused, and vulnerable, his mouth opening to say more, that was until he caught himself. His brows instantly pulled down, he bared his fangs, and his eyes narrowed as he looked at Shiro with anger. His grip on the strap of his backpack tightened, he gave out a huff and walked ahead leaving Shiro behind who remained on the spot, looking at his back.

"Don't take me for a weak fool old man."

Rin didn't look back as he walked the steps leading to the monastery, and it was a few seconds later that he heard the paladin's footsteps following him.

When they were both in front of the door Rin was kind of shocked that none of the barriers they placed worked on him. He knew the monastery had quite a few barriers in place, he saw them etched on the ground and he could also feel them. From what he'd learn about barriers he knew they were quite strong with just one look at them, in fact, he was sure it could keep most high-level demons and perhaps even a low ranking demon king. However, this barrier didn't work on him, it didn't even cause him pain which was what he'd usually feel upon touching a barrier. A stinging, almost electric like sensation that would course through his body that would only go away if he stopped touching it. Such a feeling was something a demon didn't forget so he'd know if he felt it, yet he didn't do much as feel a tingle. Had Shiro modified the barriers? Or were the barriers always designed in a way that he wouldn't get hurt? He wouldn't think it impossible. He could feel the strange familiarity with the place as if he'd been here before.

Rin looked at the door, as Shiro reached for the doorknob and opened them. As the doors were pushed open, Rin felt himself freeze ever so slightly as the lights shun on him, all the while feeling an odd feeling of familiarity.

* * *

Yukio grabbed the bedsheets and shook them to take the wrinkles off, he then proceeded to lay them on the bed.

He was cleaning his room as he usually did every day, he refused to live in a pigsty thank you very much. However, unlike always, this time he was cleaning his room for other reasons.

Last night his dad came back from True cross, his expression one of genuine joy, an expression he hadn't seen in his father's face in a long time. By the looks of it he hadn't been the only one to think that. The others also looked at him confused and asked him if everything was alright. The old man had proceeded to tell them that everything was indeed alright, and it was then that he decided to tell them the news. Apparently a few months back a middle-class exorcist from the Romanian branch was brought to the Japanese branch for further training. This wasn't odd, exorcist often went back and forth between branches. What was surprising was that his father had taken the exorcist as his apprentice, and Yukio couldn't help but feel incredibly shocked and slightly annoyed. His father rarely ever took an apprentice, in fact for a paladin his amount of students was a record low compared to other paladins before him. Having taken Shura as his first real apprentice, and turning her into one of the best exorcists in the line of duty -he seriously hated to admit that- his father's skills in training others became almost legendary. After Shura he had taken him as his apprentice, well others would call it that but he wasn't really. His father did train him don't get him wrong, but not in the level he trained Shura, at least not nearly as tough, demanding, or as carefully. It's because of this that he was shocked to learn that he had taken another apprentice, and voluntarily no less.

Yukio gave out a sigh, shaking his mind of the jealous thoughts.

He should be glad his father is taking a new apprentice that he finally had something new to do. The last few years he'd watch his father, and feel almost concern of how inactive he was in the order, there hadn't been any paladin level missions lately. His father isn't a man that was happy of staying home all day and do nothing, so he worried when he saw his father stay at the monastery all day. He said it was alright when he asked him, but he knew it affected him. But now that he has an apprentice he finally had something to do, something to occupy his time.

Finishing his bed, he turned and proceeded to make the bed opposite his.

The monastery is a crowded place, and every room was already taken which meant that this new exorcist had to sleep in his room. Usually, they had a spare room which was reserved for Shura for when she visited, but since she hasn't visited in a long while they chose to give that room to someone else. He didn't mind it really, he was used to bunking with other students from his time as a page, and then an exwire. So long as his roommate knew how to be organized he was good.

After Yukio had made both beds, and after he swept and cleaned a little more, he proceeded to clean his guns. The nex exorcist wasn't due to arrive until later in the day, apparently, he was being driven to the monastery by dad which was odd. Couldn't Mephisto just give him a key? That's usually how most exorcists visited the monastery. Well regardless, there was still sometime before he got here so he might as well occupy his time.

When night time came, and he was sure they'd be arriving soon. Yukio exited his room and went to the chapel where he knew they would be entering from. It would be rude if he wasn't there to greet them

He sat crossed legged on one of the pews, with a booked in his hand as he read. The book he read was one on advance verses, and prayers he could use in combat. He didn't often use verse to fight demons, he isn't an aria after all, but he still liked to be prepared just in case he had to, not to mention that it was a good idea to learn every meister discipline. His father knew all of them, mostly because he's the paladin and that is one of the requirements, but also, because his father was always prepared, ready for anything, and so must he.

"What do you think this exorcist will be like?" asked Maruta from across the chapel, his gaze on Izumi as he swept the floors.

Yukio eyes looked up from his book and looked at Izumi who was busy lighting the candles near the altar. His gaze was thoughtful, as he turned to look at Maruta.

"Not sure must be someone with a lot of promise though. Father Fujimoto would accept no less." Izumi answered.

For a little while, Murata seemed to consider Izumi's answer, and then he nodded and looked back at the floor and continued sweeping.

"Of course."

Neither exorcist said anything. Yukio went back to his book, but he didn't continue reading it. His thoughts were once again on his father's new apprentice. He knew what Izumi Said was true, whoever his father chose to be his new apprentice must be someone with great promise, someone with skills beyond a regular exorcist. This fact made it very difficult to figure out who said exorcist is, given his history his father only took in children as an apprentice, He and Shura were an attestment to that. However, both of them were special circumstances. him because he was his son, adopted but still his son, and Shura because he saved her when she was a child and she already showed great promise. This new addition could follow the same trend however, he could also be an older exorcist, and if that was the case he had no idea who it could be. There are many skilled exorcists in the order, but none of them fit the bill. Who could this exorcist be? It's possible that the exorcist had been kept a secret, and worked undercover which would make him unknown in the order.

Yukio stretched his stiff neck and went back to reading.

Whoever this exorcist was, he will find out very soon, there was no point in pondering about who he is.

As if on cue, the main doors to the monastery opened, letting in a gust of wind that blew his hair as well as some of the candles.

Everyone including Yukio stood and looked back.

By the entrance of the monastery stood his father, he wore his usual trench coat and on his lips he had his usual cocky grin. Everything about him was the same, except for the other young exorcist that stood beside him, glaring and looking around the monastery in what he would say was annoyance.

As Yukio looked at him he was a little shocked. He was young, probably the same age as him, which meant that he was probably a prodigy like him. As for appearance, he seemed to match him in height. He had snow-white hair, and his eyes were a light blue just like his. He wore the usual exorcist uniform, with a sword hanging by his hip. Strangely enough his ears -which were partially hidden by his hair- were pointed, and as he opened his mouth slightly he could make out a set of fangs.

Yukio narrowed his eyes slightly. He must be a nephilim, it wasn't rare to see one, there are many exorcists who are nephilim however, he had never met one with such prominent demonic traits. Usually, the nephilims he met had diluted demonic blood, so they were practically a hundred percent human. So to see one with strong demon traits was weird, but even weirder still was the odd feeling of dejavú he was getting. He didn't understand why but he felt like he knew him like they've met before even though he was sure he's never met him before.

The strange exorcist kept looking around the monastery until his eyes finally rested on his and time seemed to stop. Blue eyes met blue eyes, and the feeling of familiarity increased exponentially. Yukio's eyes looked back in confusion, while the stranger seemed more annoyed than shocked, but there was something in them like he knew something.

"Good to see the monastery hasn't burned down while I was away." Shiro sang, snapping both Yukio and Rin from their staring contest.

Both of them looked at the old man who was looking from one to the other, his grin ever prominent.

"It didn't burn down precisely because you weren't here." Mused Murata, diffusing the tension.

"You're so mean Murata!" Cried Shiro, but by the way, he was looking at Murata he knew he was right.

Izumi and Murata chuckled, and both of them walked to where Shiro and the Nephilim were standing, meanwhile, Yukio stayed his ground.

"Yukio don't be rude, come and say hello." Shiro admonished, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Snapping out of his trance-like state, he exited the pews and walked to where they were all standing. As he did he looked at the Nephilim, who was once more looking at him. His gaze murderous, as if he was telling him not to come closer or he'll cut him down. However, that didn't stop Yukio as he kept walking confidently, until he was in front of them, looking between the Nephilim who was glaring coldly at him, and his father who was smiling as usual. He didn't pay attention to the Nephilim, but he did feel something strange from him, he didn't know how to place it but he knew this exorcist was strong. This was his father's new apprentice?

"Yukio this is Rin. Rin this is Yukio, my son." Shiro said, both younger exorcist looking at each other, and Rin seemed to stiffen as he introduced them.

Not wanting to be rude, Yukio stretches out his hand, offering it to Rin with an amiable smile.

"Nice to meet you."

No one said anything as Rin frowned, and looked at Yukio's hand with distrust. Yukio was no fool, he could discern that he didn't want to be here, that -for whatever reason- he disliked him. It was annoying, he didn't even know him, but for that reason, he couldn't be rude like him. He wouldn't lower himself to his level.

After a few seconds of them just standing, and of Rin glaring at him, Shiro nudged him causing Rin to look at him and glower. Shiro didn't seem affected as he looked pointedly at Yukio, as if telling Rin to say hi, like a father would to a small child when they were too shy to say hi to a stranger.

Eventually, Rin gave in, and he looked back at Yukio and shook his hand a little more forcefully than he needed to, and oddly enough his hand felt unnaturally warm. Yukio managed to stop himself from grimacing, and kept his smile and shook the hand in return.

The handshake didn't last for longer than a few seconds, as Rin quickly took his hand away as fast as possible as if Yukio had a disease.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" Asked Shiro, not having noticed how Rin was glaring at him, not how disgusted he seemed to have been from a mere handshake.

What was his problem?

"Oh yes, Rin this is Murata and Izumi."

Both exorcists took a step forward and shook Rin's hand, who was more willing to shake hands with them, meaning that his problem was just with him. He didn't understand why.

"There are a couple of other exorcists who live here, but they're currently out on missions so you'll get to meet them later on," Shiro told Rin, who didn't seem like he cared one bit.

For a little awkward while all of them simply stood by the entrance of the monastery, none of them knowing what to say or do as they looked at each other, that was until Murata spoke.

"We have dinner ready, we've been waiting for you."

Shiro grinned, light up at the prospect of eating as he nodded and walked towards the dining area.

"Yes, we're starving. Right Rin?" Asked Shiro, but Rin didn't so much as look at him as he followed, his eyes looking around the monastery.

"Good, good. We made quite a bit of food, we knew you'd be starving." Murata mused as they all walked into the kitchen, and Yukio could feel a set of eyes burning holes at his back.

After they all helped serve the food, and set the table - everyone but Rin of course- they sat to eat. Rin sat to Shiro's left while Yukio sat to his right. All of them ate rather quietly, especially since it's Shiro who mostly sparks conversation and he was too busy stuffing his mouth with food. He really was starving. Yukio on the other hand barely ate, he already ate a little before dinner so he wasn't hungry, not to mention that it was hard when a set of blue eyes were constantly glaring at him.

"So Rin, you're from the Romanian branch?" Asked Izumi, taking a dumpling from one of the plates and stuffing it in his mouth.

Everyone around the table turned their heads to look at Rin who put down his chopsticks, like him, he barely ate anything, he was too preoccupied with staring at him to eat.

"Da." Rin said in Romanian, his cold eyes landing on Izumi who visibly lit up on the spot. He knew Izumi had spent a few years in the Romanian branch, doing a job there as well as studying. He himself had never been to the Romanian branch before, but he heard that it wasn't nearly as impressive as the Japanese branch. After all, it was mostly a research branch, which was odd that Rin came from it. They didn't have a school, nor did he think they ever trained anyone.

"asta e minunat, am studiat in sucursala romaneasca de cativa ani. Totuși, românul meu nu este atât de bun." Izumi said, and though he didn't understand Romanian he could tell the accent was rough.

Rin nodded.

"Am petrecut cea mai mare parte a vietii mele in Romania. dar nu te-am întâlnit niciodată înainte." He said, his accent perfect not to mention that he spoke fluently, unlike Izumi who had to stop and ponder on the words.

Everyone's reaction was the same, as they all looked at Rin in shock, and almost awe, all except Shiro who was grinning like a fool, almost as if he was proud of Rin. That shouldn't have made him feel jealous, but he'd be lying if he wasn't. Just who was this Rin, and why was his father so attached to him? Especially since they apparently just met.

Shiro put down his chopsticks, finally done eating.

"Oh yes, Rin here is a bit of a multilingual. He can speak five languages, Japanese, German, Mandarin, Romanian, and English. Speaks them fluently too." Shiro exclaimed proudly on Rin's behalf, and Yukio's jealousy intensified.

For a brief second Rin's gaze fell on him, and Yukio watched annoyed as his lips twitched, as if he knew that he was jealous. His hand under the table formed into fists, but his gaze didn't give away his anger and frustration.

"That's amazing, my Romanian is rough at best and my Japanese is just average, even though it's our native language," Izumi exclaimed in amusement, and Shiro and Murata chuckled.

Rin didn't say anything, nor did he show any pride, he was clearly a very serious individual, either that or he was just being prickly for no reason. He didn't know him, but he could guess it was the later.

The rest continued to eat, while he and Rin sat respectfully on the table waiting for them to finish, both of them giving each other side way glares. Eventually, everyone finished, with his dad smiling and leaning back on his chair pleased. Yukio was ready to stand up and clear out the table, but when no one made a move to stand up he remained on his seat annoyed. He looked at Rin, and was annoyed to see how cool-headed, and relaxed he seemed, and he gave Yukio a tooth glinting grin. Yukio's brows twitched in annoyance, knowing full well that Rin wanted to leave just as much as him, but he was acting otherwise, to look superior, and it annoyed him to no end.

Rin's grin widened a little, turning mischievous, and Yukio clenched his hand tighter. He'd only known him for less than two hours and he was getting on his nerve, however, he couldn't deny that it was odd how he could make out what he was thinking, as if he'd known him for a long time, not to mention the odd feeling of familiarity. It was odd.

"So you're a knight Rin?" Asked Murata this time, breaking the silence.

Everyone around the table turned to look at Rin, who's grin fell and he looked at Murata.

"Yes, I've more or less mastered the sword. I have quite a bit of knowledge of the other classes, but my next Meister class will be dragoon." He said, looking pointedly at Yukio as he said that.

Yukio narrowed his eyes, he hated people that show off above anything else.

Shiro smiled, and patted Rin's back affectionately, which had Rin turning his glare on the paladin.

"Yes, he's quite something. Mephisto tested him before coming here, he wanted to make sure his skills were what his record said they were. He passed the knight, and tamer test, so now I gotta train him to become a drogoon, and perhaps one day Doctor. Of course, he still has a lot to learn about the other two disciplines, but I'm sure he'll learn along the way." He exclaimed proudly, putting Yukio further on edge.

He wasn't the jealous type, he really wasn't. The way he saw it his skills spoke for him and all he really cared about is furthering them. While it was true he didn't have any competition seeing as he was the only exorcist his age, he never once saw himself below anyone else or less of an exorcist. But this Rin, he was testing his patience. He was clearly a prodigy like himself, and he was making sure Yukio knew it.

"Amazing! So young, and already so skilled! If you plan to master all the Meister classes then you'll be one of the very few exorcists who have achieved it. At the top of my head, Shiro here and Light are the only ones I know of." Izumi exclaimed, impressed.

Rin nodded, and grinned a little, seeming to relish in the attention. A little moment of silence passed, as they all look at each other until Imzui broke the silence again.

"Very impressive, but you still can't beat Shiro I reckon?"

Yukio watched amused as Rin made a sour face, his nostrils flaring and his lips forming into a thin line. Murata and Izumi laughed, and Rin's expression worsened. He was glad that Rin still hasn't beaten his father, hell he still can't come close to beating him and he's been training under him since he was a small boy. He knew, of course, his father wasn't invincible but he was the closest that came to invincibility. He was just too damn good.

Murata waves his hand dismissively at Izumi.

"Don't think too much of it Rin, Shiro here's never been beaten. His main discipline is dragoon, but he's an expert at all others too. In fact, I don't know who would win in a sword fight, Shiro or Arthur."

"You overestimate my skills! Arthur would win easily, he may be thick headed but his skills with a sword are such I have never seen before." He said, leaning away from the chair and looking at them indignantly.

Both Izumi and Murata chuckled but didn't say anything. For a long while, they all remained silent, awkwardly looking at each other until Murata chooses to break the silence by pushing back his chair and standing up.

"Well, better start cleaning." He said, taking plates from the table, Izumi quickly followed and helped clean up. Yukio too stood up and reached for a plate but before he took it Shiro raised his hand and stopped him, just before he touched one plate.

"Actually, Murata, Izumi could you go show Rin to his room? I need to talk to Yukio." He said.

Both exorcists stopped what they were doing and looked at Shiro almost confused, as they looked from one to the other, while Rin looked bored as he stood up. Yukio, on the other hand, stood frozen, it wasn't usual for his father to want to speak to him alone, was he going to talk to him about Rin? Did he notice the murderous looks he shot at the Nephilim? If yes, then he better talk to Rin too because he was doing it way more than him, he was simply reciprocating.

Without questioning him, Murata and Izumi nodded and made their way to the door, looking back at Rin who looked at them bored.

"Come along Rin, let's get you settled," Izumi said, as he exited.

Rin didn't follow immediately. He stood by the table looking at Shiro, who simply nodded and waved him away. Rin sighed, and followed the two other exorcists, giving Yukio one last glare before leaving.

Yukio's eyes followed him as he exited the room, and gave out a loud sigh as his form disappeared. He didn't know why but he had been incredibly tense through that whole ordeal.

"Tiered?" Asked his dad, from where he sat.

Yukio looked down at him, and for the first time since he got back, he noticed the exhaustion around his eyes. The bags under his eyes were darker than ever before, and he could see new wrinkles had formed around them. At looking at his father, Yukio's Anger towards Rin disappeared as his brows softened and he looked at his father with worry. Whatever his new mission was it was really wearing him down, but knowing his father he wouldn't complain or say he was tired, he was that type of person.

His father smiled, knowing what he was thinking and he gestured to the chair beside him and Yukio took it, his gaze on him.

"So, what do you think of Rin?" Asked Shiro.

As he heard the question, Yukio had to use every will power in him to not grimace and bark at how Rin got under his skin without having to say anything. All that showed was a slight twitch in his brow, which Shiro easily caught.

Shiro laughed, but it sounded tired and Yukio's brows softened.

"I know you already disliked him right off the bat, he isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with." He mused, leaning back on his chair.

At that, Yukio felt a weight fall off his shoulders. For a second he thought his father would reprimand him for behaving so coldly towards Rin, or that he would demand him to get along with him. Yukio gave out a sigh, relieved he had to do no such thing, and truthfully he probably wouldn't be able to do as he asked. He doubted he could be on friendly terms with Rin, and he knew it went both ways. They barely have known each other for no longer than and two hours and they already disliked each other greatly, and that wasn't likely to change.

"He is a little… difficult I suppose." He admitted, and Shiro looked at him with amusement.

"A little? Try a lot." He chuckled, but Yukio could tell there was frustration behind those words. It would seem he wasn't the only one Rin disliked or didn't get along with, his father was also subjected to the same treatment and at that, he felt anger swell in him. Who did the Nephilim think he was, treating the paladin like that especially in his own home?

"You know when I met him a few months ago, he was a lot worse. I managed to teach him to be less prickly, but he's still has a lot to learn." He said, his voice more serious now.

Shiro leaned in, and rested his elbows on the table, looking straight at him.

"Why take him in as an apprentice then? He's rude, treats everyone like they're below him… I may only just known him for no longer than two hours but I can tell he's a complete nuisance." He said, his anger flaring.

Shiro sighed, and he looked even more tired, causing Yukio to regret his words.

"I know he's annoying and that sometimes you want to strangle him, but it isn't his fault that he's that way. You see, Rin hasn't had that much interaction with other people your age, in fact, he hasn't had much interaction with anyone period. He had a very tough childhood, he was raised to be a weapon, so that's all he knows. so that's why we gotta be patient with him." He said.

Silence fell over the room as both of them looked at each other, Yukio processing his words. Admittedly, hearing that Rin had a tough childhood -even though he didn't know the extent of it- did make him feel a little less annoyed at him. It wasn't really his fault that he was raised in such an environment, that he didn't really have a life, but still a small part of him was still annoyed and indignant.

"I took him in because of this, but also because I knew his mother." He said, his eyes looking past Yukio as if he was looking far into memory, and all traces of anger drained. He had never seen his father look like that, he was usually so happy and confident to the point that it felt extremely odd to see him like this.

"She was a good friend of mine, so when she died just after Rin was born she asked me to protect him. I tried my best, but he was taken away. I thought he had died, but when I saw him a few months ago I knew I needed to take him in as my apprentice."

Once more silence, both of them looked at each other, and Yukio looked at him the information starting to click in his head.

"Rin is a Nephilim isn't he?" Yukio asked softly, leaning closer and looking at his father straight in the eyes.

"And he isn't just any Nephilim, he's a high ranking one, a noble?" He asked almost unsure, knowing he shouldn't have that knowledge.

Shiro's eyes widened slightly, but then they softened and he looked at him amused.

"I'm impressed Yukio." He said, his eyes sparking with pride.

"Yes, He's a Nephilim, and yes he's a noble but this is information you cannot tell anyone Yukio. Nephilims are to some extent accepted in the order, but we both know there's still much prejudice against them especially since he's the son of a strong demon. He would be ostracized by the order if they learned this, so please keep this a secret." He asked, almost pleading.

For a brief second Yukio wanted to say no, and see Rin be taken down the high pedestal he seemed to have put himself on, but then he realized this really meant a lot to his father. And besides he was asking this of him, his father never asked anything of him.

For what felt like the hundredth time, Yukio sighed and nodded.

"I'll keep his secret, and I'll try my best to be as patient as possible, but I can't guarantee anything." He conceded.

As soon as the words left his lips, Shiro grinned widely and nodded.

"That's all I ask." He said, and Yukio nodded with a small grin of his own.

After that, both of them cleared out the table and washed everything, neither of them saying anything. Once everything was clean, they both said their goodbyes and parted ways. Shiro going to his own bedroom, and Yukio going to his, which was now occupied by Rin. He dearly did hope he wouldn't end up regretting his promise.

Standing by the door to his room, he stopped in front of it with one hand on the doorknob. Giving out a deep breath, he turned the doorknob and entered the room.

The room itself was the same as it had been when he was last in it, but this time Rin was in it. The white-haired nephilim was lying on –not the bed he had set out for him- but on his bed no less, leaving the older bed for Yukio. His feet –which he still had his boots on- were resting against the bed sheets, as his were raised. His head was leaning back on the headboard, with his eyes looking down at a book in his hands, not at all acknowledging Yukio. But what was stranger still, was Rin's white tail that was lazily swishing back and forth, and Yukio couldn't help but stare at it.

"I figured the old man would tell you what I am, not that it would be too difficult for you to realize it. I would question your so-called skills if you hadn't." He answered Yukio's question before he could ask it.

For a brief second Yukio was impressed, only for it to change to anger, and yet he didn't say anything. He simply walked to the other bed and began preparing for sleep. However, Rin had other plans.

His eyes still on him, Rin put down the book, stood up from the bed and walked up to him, causing Yukio to turn sharply on the spot. Now that they were closer he realized Rin was slightly shorter than him, and that made him a little happy. However, as their eyes connected and he looked at Rin's cold, angry eyes his feelings on his small victory dissipated.

"Just so you know I'm not here to make friends. I don't want to get to know you, and I don't care about you. I'm here to train, and that's it. So while I'm here we should forget the other exists. Also, stop staring at my tail, it's annoying"

For a brief moment, both brothers looked at each other, Yukio with wide shocked eyes, while Rin looked at him with a cold expression. As they stood there are many things went through Yukio's mind, but the main thing was indignation. Seriously, who did he think he was? Coming to his home, to share his room, taking his bed, and treat him such a way? Never in his life had he met someone as rude, or straight forward as him, and that both shocked and irritated him.

Yukio formed his hands into fists, and he wanted to say a thing or two to this exorcist, but then remembered his father's words.

' _Rin hasn't had that much interaction with other people your age, in fact, he hasn't had much interaction with anyone period. He had a very tough childhood, he was raised to be a weapon to be used, so that's all he knows._ '

Remembering those words, Yukio sighed and nodded, his anger dissipating. He didn't know what kind of childhood Rin had, but if dad was being sympathetic with him then so should he. Who knows, maybe he'll warm up a bit later on, and besides the last thing he wanted was to make his roommate an enemy, life would be hell if he did.

"Very well."

For a brief second Rin's brows shot up in shock, only for him to catch himself and frown. He nodded and turned on the spot going back to his bed.

"Good." Was all he said as he laid down, and continued reading his book, while Yukio continued to prepare for bed.

These were going to be the longest months in his life.

* * *

Back from the grave on this fic eh?

to be honest I stopped writing because I wanted to let the manga advance a little bit so that I could finally see how Rin and Yukio came to be. I wasn't overall too happy of their backstories, but at least now we know.

So finally Yukio and Rin meet, and next chapter there'll be more interaction between the both of them.

Anyways, hope you like this chapter, please review and see you next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8: A girl named Yui

Chapter 8

A girl named Yui

* * *

"He's impossible, please just let me go to the academy early, I'll happily live there." Yukio practically begged, while Shiro simply raised a brow in amusement.

They were in the study, in his father's study to be more precise. It was a small room, with a large desk in the middle and a couple of chairs. The walls were lined with bookcases filled with exorcism textbooks. Behind his father there was a large window covered by drapes and lying on the sill was the black cat Kuro, his belly up and his tail swishing from side to side happily purring as the sunlight hit him. Yukio looked at Kuro confused.

The demon cat -which is his father's familiar- usually hung around his father, but ever since the arrival of Rin he took to following the nephilim. At first, he watched as Kuro would hide and watch Rin who barely even paid any attention to him, from one day to another that changed though. One day he walked to his room and found Kuro lying on Rin's chest playing with the nephilim's tail, while Rin read not at all minding Kuro. He had been surprised when he saw them, Kuro didn't take well to strangers so to see him so relaxed with Rin, and vice versa, to see Rin so comfortable with Kuro was surprising. In the last two months they've been sharing the same room he came to realize Rin resembled a cat. He was skittish, disliked strangers, and he was strangely curious of anything he saw. The only difference, however, is that with a cat it was cute, with Rin it was extremely annoying. It was almost as if he was trying to get on his nerves.

"What's so wrong about Rin?" Asked his father, looking down at the papers in front of him and writing on them.

"What isn't? He's rude, messy, doesn't clean up after himself and leaves everything laying around expecting me to pick it up. He stays up all night and sleeps all day. He takes what's mine without asking, nor putting it back, should I go on?" He asked, finally exploding after two months of putting up with Rin atrocious behaviour. He honestly didn't understand how the Romanian branch put up with him this long, how anyone could put up with him, it was a miracle he lasted this long. He has patience, but even he has a limit.

Shiro looked up from the papers and looked at Yukio as if inspecting him. After he saw The Yukio had his hands clenched into fists, his lips quirked up in amusement.

Putting his pen down on the desk, he looked at him and leaned back in his chair, giving him a thoughtful look, accompanied by a large smile.

"You know what I think you both need?" he asked, bringing his hand to emphasize his point.

Yukio rolled his eyes in annoyance and crossed his arms in front of him.

"What," he asked, while his father's grin grew, and that didn't sit well with Yukio who began to worry.

"I think you both need some bonding time, so how does a mission sound?"

"Thank y- wait what?" He practically yelled, finally realizing what his father said, his eyes widening in disbelief, while his father's grin grew bigger evilly,and he just knew his father wanted him dead.

He, on a mission with Rin? That was preposterous, there was no way he was going on a mission with him! He is a nightmare to deal with in everyday life, he couldn't imagine how he would be like in a mission. Sure, Rin is a highly skilled individual, and he had to admit that he is as skilled as he and he seemed to take in information like a sponge. One day he had caught him reading a physics book with genuine interest in his eyes, only to find the book discarded in less than an hour and something told him it wasn't because he lost interest, but that he had read the whole book. Of course, he knew that was impossible, no one could read and learn that fast, but still, he couldn't deny that Rin is incredibly smart. However, that didn't take away from his horrible attitude, and therefore a bad partner to have on a mission. Depending on the mission, he had to trust his life in the hands of the fellow exorcist around him, and he didn't trust Rin to do that, he would probably push him in the way of a demon to get hurt, that's the kind of relationship they had.

"You want us to kill each other, don't you?" He asked in disbelief.

Shiro stood up, as he chuckled and leaned on the desk

"Nope, I just want some quiet time," he admitted, and Yukio deadpanned.

He knew it, his father wants him dead.

* * *

" _I'm bored!"_ Cried Kuro, and Rin rolled his eyes.

They were in his, and Yukio's room, or should he say his room? He was merely letting the four eyes sleep here, if he so wanted, he knew he could force him out of the room, and keep the room to himself. That four eyes doesn't have a fighting bone in him, but he didn't want to go through the hassle.

Rin fixed the collar of his uniform and pinged the true cross symbol on the lapels of his coat. With passing disgust, he looked down at it, and then looked at himself in the mirror on the wall.

He was wearing the True cross exorcist uniform, it wasn't his first time donning it, but he was still just as disgusted to see it on him. Entirely different from the teal uniform of the Illuminati, the coat he wore was entirely black with a white dress shirt and a red tie. He had a bag hanging by his waist filled with bombs containing holy water, as well as several other items used to exorcise demons, all of them dangerous to him so he made sure the bag was tightly closed. He had denied carrying it at first, but during his first mission, the old man forced him to wear it, telling him that it would seem odd if other exorcist saw him not carrying the bag. Overall he looked entirely different, with his tail tucked around his torso, his hair covering his ears and with the lack of flames he looked almost human. He despised that. He isn't some weak human but he had to look like one for the mission. Speaking of missions.

Rin walked to his bed where Kuro lay curled on the bed sheets, and where his katana was.

Kuro looked at him as he grabbed the sword, and strapped the scabbard to his belt, checking the buckles a few times to ensure it was properly secured, not wanting to rehash the same incident. Just thinking about it made him cringe.

During his first exorcist mission -accompanied by the old man of course- his sword had fallen out of his waist much to his embarrassment, and Shiro's amusement. It hadn't been his fault really, that was the first time wearing the uniform, and he hadn't realized the buckles hanging by his belt were meant for his sword so he shoved the thing under his belt, too proud to ask for help. Of course, now he knew better, but he still couldn't put it behind him as he recalled how hard Shiro had laughed and he nearly set him aflame. He refused to be made a fool of, especially on his first mission without the old man, and much less in front of the four eyes.

Barely an hour ago he was informed by Kuro that he was assigned a mission, and at first, he had been thrilled but then Kuro told him that Yukio was going to accompany him, and his excitement went down the drain.

He's been at the monastery for two months already, and he found it to be dull really. He did get to live among the humans and learning more about Assiah, and go on missions but he couldn't get over the annoying four eyes. Since the very first day he has been trying to get under his skin just for the fun of it, but nothing seemed to matter what he said to him, what he did, or egg him on, he never once snapped and he simply looked at him with indifference and walked away, or worse, he would smile as if he didn't care. That callousness towards him annoyed him to no end, he would have much rather that he yelled at him because acting like everything was alright gave him the impression that Yukio saw himself as his superior.

' _After tonight he won't,'_ he thought to himself, and Kuro tilted his head looking confused but Rin didn't explain further.

He was dead set on showing that four-eyes that he's better than him, by killing any enemy that came his way before he could so much as pull the trigger of his guns.

Rin exited the room and made his way to the entrance of the monastery. As he had expected, Shiro and Yukio were already there waiting for him.

"Ah, Rin took your time in fixing your hair I see," Shiro mused, and Rin fought the urge to growl at him so instead he glared intensely.

He walked up to them, to stand beside Yukio who was wearing his uniform and had his guns hanging by his waist, as well as several flasks. He wasn't looking at him, but rather at Shiro, as if he wasn't even acknowledging the fact that he was there which made him grit his teeth.

Kuro who had followed him walked up to Shiro, and with a smooth leap, he tucked himself on top of the old man's shoulder, licking his paws while Shiro didn't seem to mind at all. In fact Shiro was busy looking at both of them, with an expression he guessed was pride.

"Look at both of you, all grown up and ready to fight monsters," he beamed with an air of teasing in his voice, but Rin caught the genuine pride.

"Just give us our mission old man," he growled.

Beside him, Yukio tensed a little, but he didn't say anything nor did he turn to look at him. He knew Yukio hated it when he was disrespectful towards Shiro, he saw him as his father after all. He didn't really understand the love between a father and son, never having had a father figure which he could love. Sure, there was Satan but their relationship was never one between father and son, more like master and servant really. He guessed Lucifer was the only one who he genuinely cared for but he couldn't really compare that to Shiro and Yukio.

Not realizing it his jealousy towards his brother grew.

"Oh that's right I forgot to tell you what you'll be doing, how silly of me."

Rin rolled his eyes as Shiro tucked his hand inside his pocket, and took out a slip of paper he gave to Yukio, while Rin looked over the four eyes shoulder. Written on the paper were names and numbers.

"You'll be going to that address," he told them.

Both of them looked up from the paper and looked at Shiro a little confused. In all the missions he's done with the old man, not once has he taken him to a residential unit, probably because he didn't trust him not to be rude towards other people, so what was the deal with sending him to a house?

"And do what exactly?" he asked sounding both annoyed, and curious.

"We got a call yesterday from someone. Apparently, demons have tormented her for some time so it's our job to deal with them,"

Once again both of them looked at Shiro confused, and Rin realized that it wasn't just him who wasn't used to going to a specific address to help someone out. It would seem that both of them are more used to hunting, and chasing demons than going out and helping people.

"Do we know what type of demons are tormenting her?" Yukio asked, slipping the paper inside his pocket in case he needed it again, while Rin already had the address memorized.

Shiro shrugged.

"Not really, so I'd be ready for anything if I were you," he said, and Rin caught the small twitch of his lips, and he narrowed his eyes with distrust. There's definitely more than what he's letting on.

Before he could think of it further, Shiro took a deep breath and put his hands on his hips as he looked from one to the other.

"Well then, are you going to wait for the grass to grow?" he asked, with a smirk. "Get on it!"

Both of them practically scrambled to the exit, and if someone asked him, he definitely wasn't quickening his steps to beat Yukio to the door. As if, he isn't that childish! Hearing Yukio's footsteps quickening, he quickened his own pace.

Behind them, Shiro chuckled and shook his head as he looked at them both with genuine happiness in his face, the first real smile he's had in sixteen years.

* * *

With the same pace, both of them walked down the street, neither one letting the other pass them, or walked faster. People passing by stopped and looked at them with amusement, but to Rin, it was anything but amusing. He grit his teeth and had to force himself not to push the four eyes away.

Seeing as it was the middle of the day it was quite hot, despite it being autumn but neither cared, even as sweat was beating down their foreheads. He'd be damned if he let the four eyes get there first.

Due to their pace, they made it to their destination in record time. Both of them stood by the large house, neither of them admitting to themselves that they had stopped to catch their breath.

The house itself was pretty, with a lavish front yard with a young cherry blossom tree that was losing its leaves. However, as Rin looked at the house he wasn't really looking at the building itself, but looking for any traces of demons. During his training, and the mission with Shiro he learned how to detect other demons using exorcist tactics. Being a demon he could sense other demons, but sometimes it was hard, especially when said demons didn't want to be found, and some demons were really hard to find so he resorted to the exorcist way of finding them sometimes. However, that was unnecessary in this case. He could smell them, demons prowling near the house, but by the smell, they didn't seem to be anything dangerous which was odd. Why send them all the way here to deal with low-level demons? They're both middle-class exorcist so what gives?

Taking a deep breath Yukio straightened his back, and without looking back, he made his way to the house and refusing to be left behind Rin followed, forgetting his train of thought.

Neither of them looked at each other, nor spoke as they walked up to the porch and Yukio rang the bell. They waited a little while as they heard someone behind the door scrambling to open it. Once the door opened both of them straightened their backs.

Standing on the other side of the door was a middle-aged man wearing a simple blue shirt and jeans, his hair was short and he had a morning beard. He had bags under his eyes and looked overall exhausted.

"Good afternoon sir, my name's Yukio and this here is my associate Rin, we were sent by the monastery," Yukio introduced making sure not to say why they were here, Rin supposed that if someone overheard, the owner might find it embarrassing.

The man nodded, his eyes going from one to the other.

"That's right, and I'm glad you're finally here," he said relieved and moved to the side. "Come in," he gestured for them to come inside.

Both Of them walked inside, and the man closed the door behind them. The inside of the house, though large, was decorated the same way most houses are decorated in Japan, but that didn't matter to Rin as he looked around in awe. He had never been inside a house before, the clown's mansion didn't count seeing as that looked more like a museum than a house. This, however, was different. It felt much more welcoming.

Beside him, Yukio began to unlace his boots, put them to the side and put on slippers set aside for visitors. Rin looked at Yukio confused as to why he was taking his boots off, but then followed suit when he noticed that the owner didn't seem at all shocked by what the four eyes was doing. Instead, he did the same and started to remove his boots. While at the monastery he never had to remove his shoes, no one really demanded it of him even though he did see Yukio walk around with slippers as well as the others. He didn't think too much of it then, not caring what they thought of him but this situation was different. He didn't want to appear rude, especially when Yukio was around.

Once everyone was wearing slippers they made their way to the living room. Rin looked at the walls and saw the pictures of a girl, the man in front of them, and a woman together, smiling at the camera. He looked at the pictures curiously but didn't say anything.

"Can I offer you anything, tea, coffee?" The owner asked as both of them sat on a round table by a window.

He wanted to say yes to tea, but then Yukio beat him to it as he shook his head.

"No thank you,"

The owner of the house nodded, and took his sit in front of them, looking from one to the other. Once again Yukio took the lead as he leaned forward, and gave the man a curt smile.

"Now, what seems to be the problem?" He asked, while Rin leaned back in his chair, not really caring at all for the conversation. Just point him to the nearest demon and he'll be sure to deal with it, no need for useless talking.

The owner looked at them awkwardly, as if he couldn't believe he had two exorcists in his home. He guessed it kind of made sense, the world of man don't know about the existence of demons, to them they're just fictional monsters.

"There's been -Er- my daughter… well…" The owner drifted off awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck not sure as to how to breach the topic, he probably thought they would think him insane.

"She claims to be able to see strange things?" Asked Yukio, intervening for the man.

The owner's eyes widened a little, and he nodded, and Yukio continued.

"They scare her, and now they're bothering her which is why you've come to us," Yukio deduced easily as if he's heard the same story a million times.

"Yes," The owner sighed almost in defeat.

Yukio raised a brow, and looked at the man inquisitively, while Rin fought the urge to yawn but also growl in annoyance. The old man sent him here to help some little girl overcome her fear of demons? What kind of useless mission is this?

"You don't believe her?" Asked Yukio, breaking his train of thought and Rin looked at the man. He appeared even more uncomfortable.

"How can I? Demons don't exist, it's probably just her imagination,"

Rin wanted to scoff. Leave it to Humans to only believe in what they can see, which is why most of them don't believe in the existence of demons. Well, he himself is proof that they do exist, though the man didn't know that and he was tempted to reveal his flames and show him that demons do exist, he opted for a more subtle way.

"Yet you called us," Rin said, the first thing he's said since entering the house.

The owner looked at him appearing annoyed, but before he could say anything, Yukio spoke

"Yes, and since we're here would you mind if we investigate, and talk to your daughter?" he asked with a smile.

The owner looked from Rin to Yukio and he nodded.

"Yea sure, I'll go get her,"

"Perfect," with that Yukio stood up and Rin followed, and the owner made his way towards the exit but before he did he stopped and turned his head.

"Demons don't really exist though… do they?"

For a brief few seconds, they all stood in silence, and Yukio grinned.

"We're exorcists, it's our job to believe they do," was all he said as he turned and started to inspect the house. The man seemed to accept his answer as he exited the living room and made his way up the stairs. Meanwhile, Rin stood up and looked out the window to see if there were any demons outside. Apart from coal tars, there didn't appear to be any but he stayed his ground. Besides, it wasn't like he could help Yukio, being a demon himself seals and holy water hurt him so he's pretty much useless at things like these which angered him. This must have been the old man's plan, to put him in a boring, dumb mission to get back at him. At that thought, he wanted to growl.

In less than a minute a small girl with short brown hair, and a pink dress ran down the stairs and to where they were standing, with her father by her side.

Yukio stopped what he was doing, and Rin turned his head briefly to look at the girl who was staring at his hair and then turned back to look out the window. He heard as Yukio approached the girl and asked her a series of questions. By her answers, it seems that the girl is scared by the coal tars which there were many, and goblins which sometimes picked on her. He thought it strange, goblins don't usually get out of their way to annoy humans, they would much rather stay hidden protecting their goblin king unless this one took a liking to her. Either way, he was annoyed. He has come all the way here, and tolerated these people to just kill one pitiful goblin? Once he gets back to the monastery he'll make sure to burn the old man to a crisp.

Once he had all his answers, Yukio smiled and patted the little girl's head, and then went back to work with warding the house. Meanwhile, he heard the girl's father made his way upstairs, while his daughter stayed behind. He, on the other hand, remained by the window the whole time, watching the sunset.

"Why is your hair white?" a soft voice asked from behind, causing his ears to twitch.

Rin turned, but there was nothing there, so his eyes moved down and blue eyes met brown eyes that sparked with curiosity. He looked at her confused.

For a second he debated whether he should ignore her or say something, this is his first time talking to a child, so he didn't really know what he should say, but then on the other hand if he didn't say something she might annoy him.

"Because," he responded simply, but the girl wasn't going to take that as an answer.

"Because why?" she asked, and Rin sighed. He was already starting to hate kids. Why did she have to take an interest in him, why not the four eyes? Surely he must appear more interesting, and much more approachable. He was even glaring at the girl coldly and she didn't seem to mind or notice as she simply stood her ground with her hands behind her back.

"Because I was born with it," he finally answered, as he realized that she wouldn't leave him alone without an answer.

The girl smiled and swayed her body from side to side, and Rin wanted to growl when she didn't leave him alone once she had her answer.

"I've never seen someone with white hair before,"

"That's nice," he shot back without an ounce of amusement, but the girl didn't mind as her smile widened.

Silence fell once more and seeing as the girl didn't have any more questions Rin turned, and looked out the window once more, hoping the girl would go away and leave him alone. However, he had no such luck, as the girl decided to talk again and he sighed exasperatedly.

"Could I touch it?" she asked tentatively.

Out of all the things she could have said he hadn't expected that. He turned on the spot once more and looked down at the girl in shock, a firm no on his lips but before he said it he saw her genuine curiosity, something he had never seen before. Why would someone want to touch his hair? Why would anyone want to touch anyone's hair? His hair must feel just like any other persons, there wasn't anything special about it, except that it's white. This girl, however, didn't seem to think so as she was looking at him shyly this time but she didn't back down. The girl has some guts he had to give her that.

Without thinking about it, and as if he was on autopilot he knelt in front of her and leaned his head down. The girl smiled, and temptatively reached for his hair and touched it carefully with her fingers.

She stroked his hair like he was a dog, but he didn't say anything as she giggled, and let go of his hair.

"It's so soft!" she sang as if his hair was the most interesting thing she had ever seen in her young life.

For a brief second Rin's lips quirked, but then pull down to a firm line when he saw that Yukio was turning to face them, probably done with the wards. Before he saw him, Rin shot to his feet startling the girl a little, as she took a step back and looked at him confused.

"Yui, could you get your dad for me?" asked Yukio with a smile, and the girl who had been looking at Rin confused, turned and nodded.

"Ok," she said as she made her way up the stairs to get her dad.

Yukio and Rin remained alone for a brief while, but neither of them spoke to the other neither did they look at the other as they waited. He didn't want to talk to the four eyes, and besides, he was preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Why had he let the little girl touch his hair? He would have incinerated such a child to a crisp a few months ago, could it be that he's going soft? His fists balled into fists at the thought. He couldn't go soft, he couldn't afford that. He could afford to make mistakes but not being weak.

Before he could think further on it, the girl returned with her father, and Rin didn't turn away from his spot even then and simply overheard them

"I placed a few barriers and wards around the house, they should keep any demons from entering the house. Now as for the outside…" Rin stopped listening, both because he didn't care but also because he saw something strange.

Outside, by the forest, there were a set of golden eyes looking straight at him, and Rin narrowed his eyes. He knew that the eyes belonged to a demon, what else could it be after all, but the demon felt odd.

Without looking back, nor caring to let Yukio know he walked to the door leading to the garden and stepped out of the house. His eyes remained glued on the golden eyes, and he did notice that Yukio had stopped talking, and heard a set of footsteps following behind.

"Where are you going?" asked Yukio, but Rin didn't answer as he kept looking ahead and Yukio seemed to get the memo as he too, looked to where he was looking and he tensed beside him.

Both remained quiet and they kept walking down the garden and into the forest, the little girl and her father forgotten.

* * *

There's a lot of things happening in this chapter, and not a hell lot of context, so if you're a little bit confused don't worry, things will start to make sense soon!

Now as for Rin, there's a lot of emotions coming from Rin here, and his emotions are all over the place, but honestly if you were taken from an immaterial world into a material world, wouldn't you feel overwhelmed? So yes, Rin has a long way to go in regards to learning the ropes, but that doesn't mean it will last for long, he'll be up and ready to get the story started in no time.

Now as for dialogue, there will be a lot more dialogue on the next chapters, i just wanted to limit dialogue on this chapter, and simply show the story visually for now.

So hope you liked this chapter, please review and see you next chapter :)


	9. Chapter 9: Ghouls

Chapter 9

Ghouls

* * *

They walked down the forest, the sun had already set and seeing as the trees were large and its leaves were thick, there was no source of light. Due to this, he heard Yukio stumble on a couple of branches and rocks, but he never fell, unfortunately. He, on the other hand, he could see just as well in the night as he could during the day, maybe better. Demons are nocturnal creatures, after all, so he felt more at home out here in the dark, which is why it was he who led the way.

They were following a demon, a goblin to be more precise. He hadn't laid eyes on it, but he was sure of that. He could smell the rot oozing from the damn thing, out of all the demons he's ever encountered goblins were his least favourite. He couldn't decide whether it was due to their terrible stench, or their pitiful weakness that gave the name of demon a bad reputation. Regardless, they did sometimes pose a threat to humans, which is why he initially thought that this goblin was the one tormenting the little girl, but now he knew it wasn't. The goblin tormenting the girl had to be weak, otherwise, it would have hurt her long ago, but this one didn't feel at all weak, and to make it worse he felt others like the goblin they were following, meaning that it was leading them to a trap.

His hand went to the hilt of his sword and held it tightly, ready to unsheathe it at any second. He wasn't scared, he never really had the luxury to be scared quite the opposite. He felt his heart beat faster at the prospect of a fight, something he seldom took part in. unfortunately, he couldn't go all out seeing as the four eyes is with him and he still doesn't know he's the son of Satan so he can't use his flames.

Thinking of the four eyes, he turned his head a little to look at him. He looked miserable with leaves sticking out of his hair, and with a deep frown on his face as he squinted to see what was in front of him. Rin grinned but didn't say anything. For a second he thought about telling the four eyes to be ready but then thought against it. He could deal with these demons on his own. Besides, what could Yukio do? He could barely see ahead of him, let alone shot anything.

They kept walking, making sure to stay behind the goblin not wanting to startle it and miss the opportunity of following it to its den. However, the closer they got, the more he wanted to turn around and leave. The smell of rot got worse and worse, punishing his nose, and he had to do everything in his power from sneezing and covering it.

Thankfully they seem to have made it to the goblin's nest, seeing as the goblin they were following disappeared behind a few branches. Rin didn't waste time to walk towards the branches and push the leaves away to walk through it. The faster he got this over with the faster he could get away from this horrid smell. He heard Yukio following behind, struggling with the branches and in no time they were both through it, looking ahead in shock.

They were in a clearing which allowed the moonlight to shine on them and gave Yukio the ability to see once more, but he seemed to be having a hard time believing what he was seeing.

Ahead of them, staring back at them were at least thirty demons, and they weren't goblins. He had made a mistake, he thought he had sensed goblins, but instead, they were ghouls, and not just any ghoul but human ghouls.

Rin bared his fangs, and unsheathed his katana without a second thought, and watched as the ghouls groan in anger. He didn't understand how he could have made such a mistake, he knew the difference between a ghoul and a goblin, it's glaringly obvious.

Behind him, Yukio took a step closer and looked at the ghouls in shock, his hands on his guns but not taking them out yet.

"Human ghouls?" he asked more to himself, sounding confused, and scared? He couldn't know for sure, but he did hear a hint of fear in his voice.

Rin scoffed and looked at the four eyes.

"You sound surprised, ghouls can possess any mortal corpse," he reminded him.

Yukio turned away from the ghouls who were still standing their ground, probably sensing that he's a demon and unsure whether they should attack or not. The four eyes looked at him annoyed, showing another emotion other than that fake smile of his for the first time in two months.

"I'm aware of that, but here in Japan human corpses are hard to come by," he explained, narrowing his eyes.

For the first time in two months, Rin faltered and looked at Yukio curiously, and confused as he lowered his katana a little.

"Cremation is the most common form of burial in Japan," Yukio explained and turned his head to look at the ghouls once more who still hadn't moved.

Rin's brows furrowed a little until something clicked in his head and he understood what Yukio was trying to say. Not the whole human ghouls not existing in Japan, but what he meant by that. He felt the hairs at the back of his neck raise, and his grip on his katana tightening. This will indeed be an interesting fight.

He raised his sword, moved his right leg back and adopted a fighting stance. Beside him, Yukio took out his guns and pointed them at the ghouls who once more gave them a warning growl.

"Someone must have killed these people for the sole purpose of turning them into ghouls," Rin said, already knowing exactly who that someone was.

Yukio didn't confirm what he said, as he pulled the hammer of his guns and he pointed it at the corpses that had begun to walk towards them. In turn, Rin glared at the ghoul, his eyes flaring with the blue flames but the ghoul didn't seem to care not did he expect it to. Ghouls are some of the lowest demons, and therefore barely have a mind of their own, not to mention that they're hardwired to follow the orders of their king.

The ghoul walked closer and closer, neither Yukio nor he doing anything until Rin got annoyed, restless for the fight to come.

He growled and walked towards the ghouls, his katana in hand.

"Get back here!" Yukio growled, but Rin didn't even hear him. It wasn't like there was any danger, if worse came to worse, he could kill all these ghouls in a mere heartbeat.

As Rin got closer the ghoul stared at him with its lifeless eyes, blood pouring out of its mouth and into its torn, dirty clothes. He grimaced in disgust, his nose twitching from the disgusting smell of rotting flesh that got stronger the closer he got but still kept walking.

Once he was right next to the ghoul, he looked at it as it ignored him and kept walking towards Yukio. He probably thought that since he's a demon he isn't a threat so he kept moving on , however, he was going to show him how wrong he was in ignoring him.

Expertly, Rin brought up his katana, flicked it in his hand, and swung it towards the ghoul's head. His blade sliced the ghoul's head clean off, causing it to fall off its body and roll on the grass. For a brief second silence seemed to dominate the clearing as the ghoul's body remained standing for a brief second before falling to its knees and then on his chest, dead.

Instantly the other ghouls growled and screeched in anger and Rin smirked, his fangs glinting as he looked at the ghouls savagely. He flicked his katana once more causing the blood of the ghoul to splatter on the grass.

That seemed to have been the last straw, as the ghouls growled and ran towards him. Anyone would have been afraid to see human ghouls running at full speed towards them, however, Rin couldn't help but smile as he raised his katana, his hands gripping its hilt with sure fingers. This is what he was waiting for, something to truly test himself, to enjoy the thrill of the battle ahead. Demons may not feel emotions as strongly as humans, but all demons enjoyed the carnage of battle.

His eyes practically glowed blue, as the ghouls got closer. From behind him he vaguely heard Yukio curse as he started to shoot the incoming ghouls. He watched as the guns flew past him and hitting the ghouls straight in the head, killing them instantly. He had to give it to the four eyes, he was a great shooter. Rin didn't stay too far behind as he swung his sword and thrust it into a ghoul's abdomen.

Seeing as he was the closest, the ghouls all ran up to him, swarming him but he managed to keep them at bay by cutting the heads of those that got too close, while Yukio supported him from the side whenever he missed one not that he needed his help.

Rin's smile broadened as he sliced a ghoul's torso clean off, using his demon strength to pull off such a move. However, that caused him to lose sight of his flank and a ghoul took advantage of that. A set of arms grabbed his arm, prompting him to turn away from the three ghouls approaching him and growl at the ghoul who had grabbed him with its filthy hand. He raised his katana and cut the ghouls head off, but the three ghouls took advantage of that as well as the other ghouls as they all lunged at him at once.

He swung his sword around him killing a few of them, but it wasn't enough to get rid of all of them. He looked at them a little wide-eyed, ready to use his flames if he neaded to.

However, just as the ghouls got closer and his grip on his sword tightened, and his control of over his flames began to wane, bullet started to rain past him as they hit the ghouls, killing them and making the others step back.

Rin growled his displeasure, as he turned and looked at the four-eyes who was now standing behind him, his back to him and his guns pointed at the demons. He didn't need his help, he could do this on his own.

"Told you to get back," Yukio huffed, cocking his guns and glaring at the ghouls that looked at them unsure.

Rin growled and bared his teeth as he turned his head to look at the ghouls ahead of him. His katana raised, and ready to keep fighting.

"You should have stayed back, there's too many of them," he scoffed as more ghouls entered the clearing, some of them animals.

"And you think you can beat them all on your own?" Yukio scoffed in return.

Rin glared intensely at the ghouls ahead of them, his tail unwrapping around his torso, and swishing from side to side. Given the number of ghouls that were making their way towards them, he suspected he might need the added agility his tail gave him.

"I don't think, I know I can," he said arrogantly, sounding a lot like a child but he didn't care.

Yukio huffed but he didn't say anything further. The ghouls, which had made a circle around them looked at them for a brief second before taking a tentative step towards them, then another until they were running.

Rin bared his fangs and growled deeply, his smile returning as he began slaying ghoul after ghoul once more. Yukio wasn't far behind either, as he shot every ghoul in front of him, reciting verses every once in a while. Thankfully none of them were powerful, so Rin wasn't affected.

They kept fighting, a pile of corpses around them, animals -mainly dogs- lunging at them with their fangs bared, but they disposed of them like the human ghouls.

Rin's heart was beating fast from the thrill of it all, his flames at the surface of the cage he kept them behind. More than once he had to stop himself from unleashing them as he got a little ahead of himself, but thankfully managed to hold some control. He didn't want to reveal his identity to the four eyes just yet.

Speaking of the four eyes, their backs sometimes pressed against each other's, especially when ghouls made a strong attack, but then separated soon after. But now, seeing as their attacks got more vicious, their backs were stuck together which is why he noticed when Yukio suddenly tensed and froze on the spot.

Swinging his sword down and killing a ghoul, he turned his head to check on the four eyes, and his shocked expression which prompted him to look ahead of him.

In front of Yukio stood a ghoul, but unlike the others, this one was possessing the corpse of a child, and Rin understood why Yukio had faltered. It was a boy, no older than five by the looks of it. His body was fragile, and decomposing like the others. Yukio was looking at the child with wide eyes, and shock, his gun trembling slightly in his hand as he pointed it at the little boy who stared emptily at him. Looking at the child himself, he felt something strange coming from the pit of his stomach, but unlike Yukio, he didn't let it control him. Instead, he walked up to the boy, and with a mere swing of his blade, he cut his head clean off much like he did with the first ghoul.

For a brief moment, his eyes met Yukio's who look at him furiously, while he looked at him emptily until a ghoul lunged at them, snapping Yukio out of his shock as he raised his gun and shot the ghoul's head clean off.

The fight continued after that, and as they killed more and more they gained more ground, seperating from one another, both of them facing their little group of ghouls.

Rin's group of ghouls were merely five, and they all looked at him unsure, but they didn't back down instead they all lunged together and Rin smiled. He slashed the first one in half, and kicked the other one so hard that he went flying to the tree, it's body slumping down on the floor dead. The next three were on him faster than he had anticipated, and one of them scratched him on his cheek but not hard enough to bleed or leave a mark, still, he growled furiously and the ghouls stopped in terror. Rin used that to his advantage as he swung his sword decapitated one, thrust his katana into the other's abdomen and then punched the other one with enough force to break every bone in its head. The blood from the ghoul splat on his face, but he didn't seem to notice as his heartbeat kept hammering in his chest. His clothes were covered with dark blood, as well as his white hair.

He grinned, his teeth glinting in the moonlight, however, he couldn't relish at the moment. He heard a loud howl coming from the other side of the clearing, causing him to turn his head to look at the source. It was a wolf, a big, black ghoul wolf with blood dripping down its teeth and its red eyes looking straight at Yukio who was too busy killing the last few ghouls on his side and hadn't noticed the wolf. The wolf, of course, noticed that the four eyes wasn't looking so sprinted to where he stood, teeth bared, ready to tear Yukio's neck open.

For a moment Rin simply watched, thinking that maybe Yukio would notice, but the closer the mut got Yukio still wouldn't turn his stupid head and realize the danger he was in. instead, Yukio grabbed a holy water grenade from his pouch and prepared to throw it at his feet so that the ghouls in front of him couldn't get closer, too tired to keep fighting as sweat dropped in streams down his forehead and he panted. Still, the wolf kept running.

Rin huffed, and his grip on his katana tightened. He watched as the massive wolf bared its teeth going straight for Yukio's neck, while the four eyes was none the wiser, and the grenade didn't seem like it was going to explode on time either. He didn't know why, he guessed it's because Yukio was a big piece of their plan and his father would kill him if he let him die, but whatever the reason, as fast as he possibly could he lunged towards the wolf. He was considerably further from where Yukio stood, but due to his demon strength and speed he was able to cross the distance much faster than any human. However, it didn't seem to be fast enough.

For a brief second his eyes widened when the wolf leaped and opened its mouth wide, and for a second he thought he wouldn't make it on time as he saw the dog getting closer and closer.

' _The hell I won't,'_ he thought.

Putting more force behind his feet, he lunged and manage to get there just when the wolf's teeth were about to touch Yukio's neck.

Rin closed his eyes as his body hit the wolf's harshly with his shoulder causing it to go flying and hitting the wall with a resonating thump, where it fell on the ground and laid limply.

Rin smirked triumphantly, and beside him the four eyes finally turned and looked at him with confusion, not having realized the danger that he had been.

He rested his katana on his shoulder and placed his hand on his hip.

"Watch yourself, four e-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the holy water grenade exploded by his feet, and his eyes widened.

Water splatter around them, hitting the ghouls in front of Yukio and killing them instantly seeing as they were too close to it, but that also meant that it hit Rin.

The white-haired demon fell to his knees, his face scrunched up in pain, and his eyes closed tightly. Steam emanated from his legs and chest, and the smell of burning flesh was pungent in the air.

In all his time in Assiah he had never been injured like this, so the pain felt worse than what it probably was. The pain in his abdomen and his leg was like no other, and the only thing he could do was rest his hand on the wound in pain, his hands quickly getting covered in his blood. The holy water hadn't burned his uniform seeing as it was merely water to it, but to him, it was like acid, so the drenched uniform was burning his skin under it which made the pain worse.

Beside him, his ear twitched as Yukio knelt by his side, but thankfully he didn't touch him, he didn't know what he might do if he did. This entire thing is his fault! If he hadn't kept an eye on his surrounding then he wouldn't have to go in and help him damn it!

He gritted his teeth harshly, closed his eyes, and took in deep laboured breaths, all the while he fought against his flames that threatened to be unleashed.

It seems that Yukio wasn't all that smart either, as he placed a hand on his shoulder, and Rin turned his head and growled at him, his fangs bare but his eyes thankfully remained the same.

The four eyes took his hand back immediately and looked at him shocked.

Rin gave him a final warning growl, and turned his head and grimace from the pain, feeling his skin starting to recover. Holy water couldn't kill him, just like it couldn't kill a high-level demon such as a demon king. If it could then the humans would have long defeated the demons long ago. No, it couldn't kill them, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

"You're more demon than human," Yukio said more to himself than to Rin.

The white-haired demon huffed at what the four eyes said. By now it should have been obvious that he's more demon than human. Nephilims don't have tails for starters, and they're not as strong, yet the four eyes hadn't realized that. Pitiful.

"Are you going to sit there all night and say the obvious?" asked Rin annoyed, the pain residing.

He saw at the corner of his eye as Yukio tensed.

"I don't have anything to heal a demon," Yukio said sounding genuinely sorry, and Rin wanted to slap him upside the head. Why did he even save him?

"No shit, why the hell would anyone carry medicine for the thing they're trying to kill?"

Rin growled and furrowed his brows the pain getting worse for a second as his skin started to knit back together. Healing meant that he wouldn't feel any more pain soon, but the process still hurt.

He gasped from the pain, his eyes flaring and before Yukio could see he pushed him back causing him to lose balance and fall back.

"I heal fast, I'll be alright in a few minutes so leave me the hell alone and go dispose of the bodies," he gestured to the bodies.

For a moment he wanted to snarl as Yukio stayed his ground, but then he stood up and started to walk away, and Rin let out a soft sigh.

"Thank you," whispered Yukio, barely audible and Rin froze for a second.

Did he hear right did Yukio thank him? The Yukio? The one he's been trying to make his life impossible every moment of every day? The wretched brother that got to stay in Assiah surrounded by people that cared for him while he suffered all his life? Beaten half to death, forced to care for himself, to fight for himself with nobody to help him.

Rin balled his hands into fists.

Yukio had no right in thanking him there was nothing to thank him for, not for what he was going to do to him in the future. He may have saved him now, but one day he'll be the one to drag him to his fate and therefore his death.

As Yukio walked away, he didn't say anything as he grit his teeth and remained on his knees, angrier now than in pain.

It took a while for him to recover, but once he did and he was sure that his skin had knitted back together he stood up, and shook the dirt off his uniform not that it mattered now, it was completely covered in blood anyways.

"Done with those corpses?" he asked, locking his anger behind bars before he did something he'll be severely punished for.

When no answer came, Rin turned his head a little confused. The four eyes may dislike him, but he knew he would always answer whenever he called his name.

When he looked behind him his eyes widened a little.

Yukio was on the ground, unconscious, and Rin guffawed.

"Are you kidding me? I take my eyes off you for one second and you-"

He stopped, his eyes narrowing and his brows furrowing, and his eyes looking around the clearing. He couldn't see anything, so he smelled the air, and that's when he knew he wasn't alone. A pungent rotten smell filled the air, much worse than the smell emanating from the putrid corpses, and that could only mean one thing.

"Was killing them necessary? Do you have any idea how long it took me to make them? Human corpses don't come cheap around here you know," asked an arrogant voice.

Rin sighed, and turned on the spot, he didn't have to look to know who it was, he could easily sense his siblings with ease.

Standing behind him, not too far was a man, well not a man but a teenager like himself. He had pale purple hair, pointed ears and goat-like spiral horns protruding from his skull. His eyes were bloodshot red, and a tail swished from side to side behind him. He was grinning so his sharp canines were visible.

Rin huffed. He hadn't realized that he was there, probably because he was too preoccupied with his pain. That damn four eyes, injuring him at a time like this. Astaroth is dangerous, more so than any of his siblings not because he's powerful, hell a low-class exorcist could deal with him, but because he's volatile, and follows his own rules, not to mention his hate for humans and anything mortal. Yukio is, in fact, lucky to still be alive, he was sure that if he hadn't been there Astaroth would have killed him in a heartbeat.

"What are you doing here Astaroth?" asked Rin, his katana still in his hand. He didn't know if he might need it, Astaroth may choose to fight him, and he might have welcomed that any other time but right now he's too tired and just wanted some sleep. Healing himself, as well as the fight had taken a toll on him

Astaroth shrugged and walked up to him. Rin's grip on his katana tightened.

"Just having some fun," he responded with a vicious grin.

"By killing humans and turning them into ghouls?"

Astaroth stopped for a second and looked at him a little taken aback, but then he grinned and kept walking.

"My, are you angry at me my prince?"

Rin scoffed and glared at the approaching demon.

"A few months ago I'm sure you would have thought this is fun," Astaroth beamed, standing before him, and Rin still didn't put his sword away nor did he relax.

"I have better things to do than spending my time around rotten bodies Astaroth," he shot, but Astaroth still kept smiling his grin widened.

"I can see that," he said, his eyes going to Yukio that was still on the ground unconscious.

Astaroth crossed his arms, and leaned on one leg, taking a more relaxed posture, while Rin was still very much glaring at him.

"So I see the rumours are true, our brother has you spying on True cross like a common lackey ?" he asked, and Rin's grip on his katana tightened. He wasn't against decapitating his brother if he got under his nerve.

"You know that's always been his problem, he always acts like he's in command and now that he isn't he keeps forgetting we don't answer to him anymore," Astaroth huffed annoyed this time, his smile falling as he looked at Rin, who was annoyed that Astaroth spoke ill of his brother. Afterall Lucifer was the only one who was there for him in Gehenna.

He repressed his growl, and instead, he leaned on one leg, taking a more relaxed posture like Astaroth. The eight demon king doesn't pose a threat to him after all.

"Those are dangerous words. You know Lucifer is the strongest of the demon kings, and therefore above you?"

At that Astaroth growled lowly in annoyance.

"Perhaps, but as you say he is above ME, you, on the other hand, are on another rank of your own, and besides... you're just as strong, or stronger than he is. You could take his spot as the strongest demon king," Astaroth tempted with a wicked smile, but Rin didn't even have to think about it once so he shook his head.

"I could, but why would I do that? A fight between us both could lead to the very destruction of Assiah, and I don't know if you understand brother but our goal is to merge Gehenna with Assiah not destroy it, so a fight would be counterproductive. And besides, Spying on True cross isn't so bad. I get to keep tabs on Mephisto and his scheming, as well as learn more about them," he gestured towards Yukio with his head.

That didn't sit well with Astaroth who growled not happy with the answer.

"You've always been close to big brother, just like Amaimon is to Mephisto you are to Lucifer...it's pitiful," he spat, and Rin had to force himself from punching the damn demon in the face.

"Say what you will, but I won't hurt Lucifer. We need to work together to achieve our goal and if you don't understand that or get in our way then I won't even think twice of getting rid of you," he declared, completely serious.

Astaroth growled, baring his fangs, his eyes narrowing.

"You wou-"

"I wouldn't? Do you really want to test that? In Gehenna I have power over the demon kings except for Lucifer, what makes you think it's any different here?" he asked, taking a step forward so that he was face to face with the king of rot.

Silence fell over the clearing as both demons glared into each other's eyes, neither backing down. The tension between them both kept growing, and he was sure a fight would break out between them both, but instead, Astaroth seemed to regain himself as he turned away his eyes and laughed a little nervously.

"There he is, the Rin I know, not the pitiful weakling who pretends to be an exorcist. You know you had me worried there, I thought that you'd change, got soft," he explained, looking up to meet his eyes once more.

Rin's glare intensified as he looked at the demon annoyed.

"I hope for your sake you stop thinking that."

Once again both of them remained quiet until Astaroth smirked and Rin tensed.

"I saw you save that four eyes, kinda looks li-"

Before the king of rot could finish what he was about to say, Rin growled deeply and lunged at him with a speed faster than the human eye could catch, even taking Astaroth by surprise as his eyes widened.

He grabbed Astaroth by the neck and pushed him harshly against the tree behind him. A loud crack resonated from the impact as the tree cracked from under the demon king's body, his head hitting the bark causing him to close his eyes shut in pain. Clearly, it must have hurt, but Rin didn't care he leaned closer so that he was eye to eye with his brother, his eyes flaring with the blue flames.

"You're trying my patience today brother," he growled and Astaroth growled deeply but he didn't make a move to get out of his grasp, but what he said next wasn't exactly an apology.

"Gone soft on the humans?" He asked with a hiss, opening his eyes to look at Rin with hate.

Rin snarled and bared his fangs, his grip on his brother's neck tightening to the point that his bones began to creak in protest, and Astaroth hissed from pain, trying to take in gulps of air only to come up empty.

"No, I just happen to know that the four eyes is an important key element to our plans," he told him, his grip on his neck tightening as he watched unfected when Astaroth began to change to a different colour.

"Father even ordered it, Yukio Okumura is not to be touched," he growled, and with that, he let go of the pitiful demon.

Astaroth fell to his knees, gasping for air as Rin walked away, going to where Yukio was lying. He wanted to turn around and kill Astaroth, but something told him his father wouldn't be pleased if he did. Even a volatile sword could be useful if used right.

Rin knelt beside Yukio, he checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive. Once he was sure that his pulse was still strong, and he was just out cold he -not thinking too much about it lest he kills him too- grabbed his hand and put him over his shoulder with ease. As he walked with the four eyes on his shoulder he grumbled his displeasure to himself. Why did he have to get stuck with this?

Once he was by the end of the clearing he stopped and turned his head to look at Astaroth who was still kneeling and glaring furiously at him. Any other Exorcist would have flinched at the amount of hate the demon was looking at him, but he barely bats an eye.

"You'll stop making ghouls, they can pose a threat if the wrong people find them. You've already given away your position to the exorcist, next time it'll be easy for them to find you," he ordered and Astaroth growled, but Rin didn't care.

"You're not going to tell on me to the exorcist?" Asked Astaroth annoyed, and a little amused.

Rin raised a brow. Did he honestly think he's trying to protect him?

"I'm not an exorcist, but if you continue making ghouls I'll come after you myself. I do hope you're that stupid,"

With that he exited the clearing, not looking back once. He knew Astaroth wouldn't try anything, he knew their father's orders are absolute and he wouldn't dare oppose them, not to mention that he has a deep respect for him as most demons did. He could kill Astaroth if he so wanted to, and he knew that but what he said was true, He hoped he's foolish enough to try and defy him

* * *

I did say the next chapter would come out early, didn't I? And wow, there's literally so much action in this chapter, and almost no dialogue I think it's a record for me tbh, and it's really fast-paced so I hope you didn't mind that.

Anyways, kind of an interest situation here, you guys got to see that Rin is changing a little but trust me he'll always have a very prominent dark side to which you guys haven't really seen yet, and I can't wait till you do.

So I hope you liked this chapter, please review and see you next time.


	10. Chapter 10: Christmas

Chapter 10

Christmas

* * *

Little fluffy specks of white were falling from the sky, slowly making their way to the ground where they gathered and began to cover everything. It was snowing outside, a phenomenon he still hasn't quite gotten bored of.

Rin was sitting on his bed, his chin resting on his open palms, his tail wagging from side to side and his eyes full of wonder as he looked outside the window. Beside him, Kuro was sleeping on his pillow, purring as he turned from side to side.

The date is December twenty third, two days until the holiday the humans call Christmas. He didn't really understand the whole fascination with it, and he didn't share in the enthusiasm of it nor the New Year. For some reason, humans went out of their way to be as annoying as possible, more so than ever before. Everyone's always in a cheerful mood, smiling at every chance they got, not to mention that a lot of strangers keep coming to the monastery so ask for advice but never to ask for their service which frustrated him to no end. If they're going to come here and ask for things they might as well make it worth their while and give them some work.

The holidays weren't all bad however, he did find he likes looking at the decorations and the shiny lights on the streets. Every time he went outside his eyes shun whenever he saw the pretty lights, and Shiro would chuckle but wouldn't comment.

Apart from Christmas and New year, he knew the four eyes birthday is on the twenty-seventh, which he supposed is also his birthday. Before coming to Assiah he had no idea what any of these traditions were, birthdays, Christmas, Obon, such things don't exist in Gehenna, nothing really exists there it's an immaterial world, so he found it interesting learning all about them. However, he refused to celebrate his birthday. What could possibly be celebrated on the day he was born?

"Hey, Rin,"

Rin turned away from the window and looked at the doorway.

Izumi was standing there, leaning on the doorway, wearing regular everyday clothes. A warm coat, scarf and gloves.

If Izumi had been the old man, or Yukio he would have growled at seeing either of them, but he has so quarrel with Izumi. Actually, he kind of liked him. He doesn't ask too many questions, talks about any random thing making sure to stay away from any personal topics, shows him around the city, and doesn't treat him differently than the others. He's far from being on friendly terms with the human, but he tolerates him just fine.

"I'm going to the market, wanna come?"

For a little while, both of them looked at each other, with Rin's eyes slightly narrowed as if he was trying to decide whether to trust him or not. Despite having gone to the market with him before, he always has to make sure what the human's intentions are. He's still hopelessly lost with emotions, so deciphering what people's true intentions are is still a challenge for him.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Rin finally decided to speak.

"Sure." He hopped off the bed and walked to the doorway.

Izumi smiled and followed Rin.

* * *

They walked around the city, carrying grocery bags.

Rin was wearing a long black trench coat, leather gloves, and boots. He didn't really need warm clothes, he could walk around naked and it would feel like nothing to him. He can regulate his body heat with his flames, in fact, overheating is more of a problem than hypothermia, but he couldn't very well walk around in shorts, sandals, t-shirt, and sunglasses in the middle of December now could he? People staring at him is far more annoying than wearing an itchy coat.

"Alright, so we just need to buy the cake, and wagashi," Izumi said, looking at the long list he brought with him.

Rin simply nodded and looked around. He spotted a grocery store with various dessert advertizements. He pointed at it.

"How bout that one?" He asked.

Izumi looked up from his list and turned his head. Rin watched as the older man smiled when he saw the sale sign. Folding the slip of paper and tucking it inside his pocket, he nodded.

"Good eye."

Both of them walked inside the grocery store, Rin following Izumi as he picked out the cake, a large fruit cake with white frosting, as well a box of wagashi. They didn't need anything else, seeing as they bought everything at another store already so they swiftly made their way to the tilt to pay. However, before they could Izumi stopped at the alcohol area, and Rin had to grab him by the back of his coat and drag him away. They're buying food for a Christmas party, which apparently it's also, a party to celebrate Yukio's birthday, he guessed as a way to save some money. That being said, only the most minimal amount of wine was going to be served, there was no need for more.

After they paid, they made their way back to the monastery. However, before the got there they came across a coffee shop, and Izumi bought them both some coffee, mostly so he could stay warm while Rin simply drank because he enjoyed the drink.

As they neared the monastery, snow began to fall once again, and Rin took off his gloves and lifted one palm up and watched as the flakes melted upon contact.

A sharp laugh made him look away from his palm and to the side. There was a large group of children running, and laughing as they threw snowballs at each other.

Rin's eyes lingered on them even as they passed them, his expression full of intrigue. He learned that throwing snowballs at a friend during winter is considered fun, and traditional form of play among children. Said sport has to be his favourite winter one. He liked such forms of bonding, what's friendship without some fighting?

Once they made it back to the monastery, Rin made sure to shake the snow off of himself and removed his boots and left them by the entrance and slip on his slippers.

"We're back!" Izumi announced.

Naoya, one of the exorcists living in the monastery, poked his head by the archway. Naoya's lips formed into a smile as Rin and Izumi made their way towards them.

Rin was carrying most of the bags, while Izumi carried the box containing the delicate cake. He didn't mind carrying all the weight, they weren't heavy to him, but he did look comical with so many bags on his forearms.

"You took your time!" Naoya admonished as he helped them take everything out of the bags, and placed them on the kitchen counters.

Izumi chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah sorry, the lines were a nightmare."

Naoya didn't say anything, nor did Rin as he helped take everything out of the bags and put in on the counter alongside the others.

When he had first arrived at the monastery the thought of helping out would have made him scoff, but when he realized how boring it was to stare at everyone go about their chores he decided to join in. He remembered how the old man almost had a heart attack when he saw him sweeping the floors one day. Thankfully he didn't say anything on the matter, instead, he smiled approvingly and patted his back to which Rin responded by tripping him with his tail.

"Can't be helped I suppose, but now that means I'll need some help cooking," Naoya said, grabbing the vegetables from the bag and setting them down.

"Can't, I'm on cleaning duty," Izumi said hastily, clearly preferring cleaning over cooking.

"Alright… I guess Yukio could help-"

"Come one you're not going to make him cook for his own party are you? That's just cruel!" Izumi admonished, and Naoya sighed, scratching his head unsure of who else to think of.

"How about Rin? You aren't busy are you Rin?" Asked Izumi, putting an arm over his shoulder and Rin looked at Izumi like a deer in headlights as he froze halfway from taking out a can from a bag.

Him cook? There's no way, he's never cooked in his life. His knowledge in the culinary art is limited only to eating, and even that isn't that broad. He's only been eating for two years, he can't possibly know much about flavours, spices, or anything of the sort.

'Yukio can probably do it though,' a treacherous though tentered his mind, and his grip on the bag tightened.

"Aye, Rin mind helping me out a bit in the kitchen? Don't worry, I'll just have you do simple stuff, nothing to elaborate," He assured him when he looked at his unsure expression.

For a moment the both of them looked at him, and he almost said no, but then the thought of them asking Yukio instead and that irked him, so he shrugged.

"I guess,"

Izumi slapped his shoulder in a friendly manner, but that didn't keep Rin from glaring at him for being too familiar. However, Izumi didn't seem to notice as he stepped back.

"Good to hear, and hey maybe you'll learn something," the happy exorcist said, already making his way towards the doorway before he could change his mind. "So I'll leave you two to it then."

With that Izumi left, and Rin looked at Naoya who crossed his arms, and adopted a more serious posture as he looked down at him.

"So, cooking."

* * *

Shiro walked through the hallways, following Belial. He knew his way around the mansion, but the old demon insisted he needs someone with him at all times a paranoia he's had since Shiro was a young exorcist. He couldn't exactly blame him, he did nearly killed him in his younger years. However, he's older now and he no longer feels the same hate for all demons as he used to. Mephisto and other demons see that, but Belial didn't still isn't convinced.

Once they were in front of Mephisto's office, Belial opened the door, and with a flourish, he bowed and stepped aside so Shiro could walk inside.

"Paladin Shiro Fujimoto, sire," he presented, and Shiro rolled his eyes.

"He knows who I am," he huffed, but as always Belial wasn't even listening to him.

Mephisto, who was sitting behind his desk wearing a bright red jumpsuit, pyjama, and a Santa hat on his head, looked up and met his eyes. Instead of doing paperwork, as a self-respecting principal should, he was playing on his PlayStation. The screen was propped up on a stack of papers, and books that seem important seeing as it had words like the Vatican on it, and other important seals. There were also, cups of ramen and various candy wrappers littering the desk.

"Oh Shiro, you're here early!" Mephisto beamed, still playing.

Shiro sighed. It's too early to be dealing with him.

"With you, there's no such thing as early, or late, I came exactly when you knew I would come," he corrected, taking his sit in front of the demon, hearing Belial closing the door behind them.

"Yea, doesn't that take the fun out of everything?" He asked Mephisto, looking back at the screen, and clicking the buttons on his controller with a speed that was inhuman.

'Cheater,' he mused to himself. He may have never played a video game in his life, being far too busy to do so, but Yukio once went through a video game phase, which he thankfully grew out of. Mephisto, on the other hand, seems like he'll be playing video games for eternity.

"Wouldn't it be amusing if you caught me doing something indecent?" Mephisto asked, not looking up from the screen.

"That doesn't stop you," Shiro growled annoyed, grabbing the pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He lit the cigarette with a wooden match from a tiny pack he always carried.

Shiro let out a puff of smoke. At the smell of it, Mephisto grimaced and wrinkled his nose but he didn't say anything.

"Meh, doing it on purpose would take the fun out of it," Mephisto said, clicking a button and putting the controller down on the desk, his attention now him as he turned to face him, folding his hand on top of the other.

"So, how's the little rascal doing?" He asked with a grin.

Shiro puffed out a cloud of smoke to the side, as he still has some respect for the demon not to blow smoke on his face.

"Doing a lot better, he's still learning, not at an alarming speed as before, so I guess we can relax on that end," he said, truly relieved that Rin's not learning so fast anymore. He already saw what endless knowledge could do to a demon, he rather not go through that again.

Changing his thoughts to a less morbid memory, he remembered what Rin had been doing before he left and he grinned.

"you know just before I came here he went grocery shopping with Izumi? Rin, grocery shopping? Just two months ago that would have been impossible," he chuckled.

Mephisto nodded, and seemed genuinely pleased at that information, but not in the same way Shiro was.

"Good to hear our plan's working then."

Mephisto took one of the unopened candy from the table and began to unwrap it.

Instantly, Shiro's smile fell at the comment. He didn't like the thought that he was only doing this for some plans. Giving Rin a normal teenage life isn't some plan, thinking it that way made him feel like he was using, and manipulating him, and that won't do. Rin has been manipulated all his life, he doesn't need to be manipulated by them too.

Noticing his souring reaction, Mephisto looked up from his candy with a grin.

"Is that not our plan?" He asked, as he took the squishy candy between his long nails, and popped it inside his mouth, his full set of fangs glinting in the light.

Shiro didn't say anything as he crossed his arms, his cigarette resting on his lips.

"To get Rin on our side?" Asked Mephisto between chews. "Even Lucifer knows that's our plan. In fact, he's counting on it," the demon said between chews. "He wants Rin to be on his side, and being the paranoid person he is, he wants to make sure Rin means it. Of course, that being said, he wouldn't let Rin out of his sight if he wasn't a hundred percent sure he'll choose him over us."

Shiro watched as Mephisto's eyes sharpened.

"My brother isn't one to accept defeat, something I guess you have come to notice. I suppose it's a trait our family shares."

Shiro puffed a large cloud of smoke, and this time he made sure it hit the clown in the face. Mephisto did his best not to complain as he waved the smoke away with one hand, his brow twitching.

"So this whole thing, is some competition between you two?" He asked annoyed.

He should have known Mephisto would think this way about the situation, he's a demon after all, domesticated or not.

"Well, of course. Do you know how dull eternity is? You gotta find the fun in things," he responded as if this was the most obvious thing.

"Good to hear Rin's fate is some game to you," he growled.

The clown smiled.

"Don't be such a sore! You forget I can see into the future. If everything goes according to plan, he'll choose us over the Illuminati. Isn't that what you want?" He asked, leaning back on his chair.

Shiro, who knew Mephisto well enough not to believe a word that comes out of his mouth, kept glaring at him.

"But even you said so before, the future is always changing. Even you can't know with certainty what will happen."

Mephisto hummed at that, nodding his head in agreement. As powerful as he may be, Mephisto isn't all-knowing, otherwise, they would have won this war a long time ago.

"Anyways, I'll be on my way," Shiro said, standing up from his chair and going to the door, not looking back.

"Alright, but before you go I want to suggest something,"

Shiro stopped, his hand on the doorknob. He turned his head and looked at Mephisto.

"What?"

Mephisto leaned back in his chair and grabbed the controls from where it laid on the desk.

"Well it's just that I remember that you have the Kurikara in your possession," he said, waving his controller to emphasize his point.

At the mention of the sword, Shiro froze slightly. In all these years he has completely forgotten about the sword. It was currently tucked away in the monastery, after Rin's disappearance he meant to give it back seeing as he no longer had any need for it but he forgot. Now that Rin's back, the sword could be a good weapon for him. It was meant to be his after all.

"Why?" He asked skeptically before he jumped on the idea.

Mephisto shrugged.

"We wanna get him on our side, what better way to do that than by giving him an extremely rare sword?" Mephisto turned his attention back to the screen. "Trust me I know teenage boys, they all want swords for Christmas," he chuckled and Shiro raised a brow.

"The way you said that is very disturbing,"

Mephisto didn't say anything as he waved him away, and for once Shiro obeyed and left the room.

* * *

As two days passed, and it was Christmas day, Rin stayed in his room reading, or on the computer, not wanting to come out while the rest prepared for the small dinner party.

The reason why he was avoiding everyone is that he doesn't want to take part in the celebration. He didn't see the point of it all. It's just a normal day like any other, why treat it any different? However, as the smell of food being warmed up wafted into his room he nearly changed his mind.

His ear twitched when he heard them walked by his door, talking to each other but not coming inside his room. Even Yukio hadn't come inside their room the entire day, busy helping others, or simply because he was avoiding him. If it had been a few months ago he would have believed that, but after the whole fight with the ghouls, they've begun to tolerate each other, if only a little. He was no longer getting out of his way to annoy the four eyes. Likewise, Yukio stopped behaving so aloof towards him. They were far from being friends, and they didn't even talk to each other, but at least now they weren't at each other's neck.

A knock came from the door, and Rin looked up from his book. He looked at the doorway as the door opened, revealing Shiro.

"It's almost time for dinner, aren't you coming?" the old man asked.

Rin simply looked down at his book and continued to read.

"I'll pass."

As he had expected Shiro didn't like that response, so he sighed and walked to his bed, sitting by the foot of it. Rin's attention still in his book, but he was close to snapping at the old man. Why can't he just give him a moment of peace?

"Why? You've had dinner with us before, how's today any different?" Shiro asked, and Rin bit back a huff.

"I don't see the need in partaking in your human celebrations, " he responded, turning the page in his book.

A moment of silence passed between them as Shiro no doubt thought of what to say next.

"You won't though, we're just having dinner and it's unfair that you cooked all that food and you won't get to eat it. Plus it looks really delicious, so I wouldn't miss out on it if I were you," he added.

Rin merely kept looking down at his book, and continued to read as if he hadn't heard a word Shiro said.

With that as his answer, Shiro sighed and Rin heard as he made his way back to the door. However, he didn't leave right away.

"I had something I wanted to give you for Christmas, but since you're determined not to celebrate it, I suppose you don't want it."

With that Shiro exited the room, and Rin's eyes shot up from the book to look at the empty doorway. He could hear a soft chuckle coming from the old man, and he was tempted to opening the door and throwing the book at his head.

He knew Shiro was playing with him, he was just tempting him in going to the damn dinner. There probably isn't a present, and if there is it's portably some stupid gift.

Rin huffed and looked down at his book.

As minutes passed, and he stared at the letters not reading them, he growled in frustration and slammed the book against the bed.

'That damn old man' he thought, as he stood up from his bed and made his way out the room. With every step he took, he made an excuse as to why he was going.

'What if they discuss some important exorcist information?' He asked himself.

Yea that was probably it, so he definitely needed to be there, just in case they said something of importance.

As he neared the dining area he could hear music and people talking and laughing. For a second he thought about going back to his room but then thought that would be cowardly so he sighed and entered the dining room.

Instantly everyone turned to look at him, everyone a little shocked, all except Shiro who had a triumphant smile on his lips.

'That damn old man!'

Rin looked at the table, noticing that the food hasn't been touched, meaning that Shiro was so sure he was coming that he convinced everyone to wait. He shouldn't let it get to him, but he couldn't help it from getting under his skin in seeing that Shiro can read him so well.

"Ah Rin, nice of you to join us, we were starting to get hungry," Shiro mused.

Rin opened his mouth to retort, but when he saw how everyone was looking at him expectantly and his eyes landed on the spot set for him, he bit his tongue. Without comment, he went to his spot and sat beside the Four-eyes.

Everyone, including Shiro, thought better of talking further about him joining them for dinner.

Rin went to grab his fork and start eating, but before he reached it he noticed everyone hadn't so much as looked at the food, instead they folded their hands together. Rin looked at them all confused, but no one seemed to notice as they had their attention on Shiro.

"Father, thank you for this meal we're about to eat."

Oh no, hell no. They aren't actually going to pray?

"Thank You for bringing us together on Christmas day to share this meal. The people in our lives bring us such joy, and we are grateful for the time spent in fellowship together. I myself am particularly happy to have my son Yukio, and the new addition to our monastery, Rin with us."

Rin couldn't help but gape, wondering if he'll burst out in flames for this?

"Help us use this time to bond closer and to learn to love each other more. Bless our appetites, both physical and spiritual, to honour You in all we do. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

"Amen," everyone repeated, and with that, they all started eating.

It took Rin a few second to regather himself, wondering as to what the hell that was, but then he shook his head and joined everyone.

"Wow, this is so good!" Izumi cheered, taking hasty bites of his food.

"I agree, both of you have really outdone yourselves." Shiro congratulated, taking as much food as he could possibly fit on his plate. "Especially you Rin, I guess we've found a new gift in you eh?"

Everyone agreed even Yukio who he was shocked to hear praising him in any way. Rin, on the other hand, did his best not to blush, but couldn't deny that he was a little happy and proud that they liked the food.

As they continued to eat, Shiro making a few jokes here and there and talking with everyone. Rin looked around the table. He noticed that everyone was wearing holiday sweaters, with Shiro's being the most ridiculous one, of Santa, holding a shotgun and a cigar on his lips. Even Yukio was wearing a generic red sweater, while he was wearing gray clothes standing out like a sore thumb. For the first time since coming to Assiah, he felt self-conscious about his looks. While with the Illuminati, he simply wore a uniform similar to Lucifer's so he didn't learn about fashion until he left the organization, and since then he's always stuck with the same clothes. Dark, generic clothes. He wouldn't dream about wearing anything different, but now he actually wished, if only a little, that he had a sweater of his own.

After everyone had eaten their food, with the old man being the last as always, it was finally time for presents, or so he hoped. He wanted to get back to his room, and away from everyone. This was too large of a crowd, being the first time everyone was finally at the monastery at once.

"Alright, present."

Rin sat up on his sit, his full attention on the Old man.

"But first, we since happy birthday to Yukio."

Rin instantly slumped back on his chair, a growl on frustration on his lips. He knows the old man's game, he wasn't to do present after to force him to stay for the stupid birthday song.

Beside him, Yukio blushed a little at the attention.

"-er- that's not nece-"

"Nonsense! Of course, it's necessary!"

Shiro walked tot he far table where the cake was and brought it to the main table, and placed it in front of Yukio and Rin.

"It's not every day my boy turns sixteen! I can still remember when you were ten and accidentally drank some of the wine. boy, you sang carols all night long!"

Rin snorted, nearly spitting out his drink as he snickered. He watched as Yukio turned bright red.

"No, no we do this properly. We all sing you a happy birthday and then we open presents."

Yukio didn't argue, too mortified to say anything as everyone around the table was still chuckling at the memory. With the mood uplifted in Yukio's expense, Rin was no longer as annoyed by the entire situation as Shiro began to lite the candles. Once they were all lit someone turned off the lights, and for a brief second Rin was in full alert, and confused, that is until they all began singing.

Rin stood there awkwardly, unsure as to what to do, not wanting to sing, and not knowing the words in the first place. All he did was sit there, and wait for it to be over. Thankfully it didn't take long, as he knew it had finished when Yukio blew the candles and everyone cheered.

"Happy birthday son," Shiro congratulated, looking at Rin briefly as he tapped Yukio's shoulder.

The Four-eyes simply nodded and thanked him.

Rin hopped they'll finally be able to open gifts now, but to his frustration, they all sat and ate some of the cake. Shiro laughed obnoxiously at a joke, and by now he knows he's doing this on purpose.

After another hour, and everyone was finally done eating, and Rin was close to bursting out in flames, Shiro stood up and clapped his hands together.

"Alright, presents!"

Rin brightened up, and once more sat up on his chair. The moment he's been waiting for is finally here.

"So I hope you've been a good boy Rin, otherwise Santa won't bring you something for Christmas,"

Rin's response to that ridiculous notion was pushing Shiro off his chair. For a moment he expected the others to admonish him for it but they howled in laughter as the great Paladin toppled over and fell on his arse. Rin looked down at Shiro who was chuckling and stroking the back of his head, and for that moment he couldn't help but crack a smile.

Once everyone settled down they all went to another section in the monastery where they had the Christmas tree, and a bunch of presents under it.

Rin watched intently until he realized the number of presents given out, most of them not for him, so he tuned everyone out. He only paid attention whenever someone gave him a small present. They weren't anything special, just simple nicknacks, so he simply grumbled as a thank you. When Shiro's turn to give out presents came, he finally turned back into the conversation.

"First I'll start with Yukio," Shiro announced grabbing a gift from the tree.

Rin watched intently as he gave the box to Yukio, who thanked him and carefully opened the wrapping. After a painful one minute of getting through all the tape, and unwrapping Yukio finally got to the box and opened it.

Yukio's eyes smiled and took out what appeared to be a leather contraption of some sort, used to hold vials and other things.

"I knew you needed a new one since you're starting your teaching position this year, so I made it myself."

After another painful moment of Yukio thanking Shiro, and trying on the damn thing that strapped to his waist, and went down all the way to his knees, did they settled back down, and he knew his moment has come.

"Alright, next I got Rin, who I wanted to leave for last but since he's giving me the death stare I guess I got no choice."

'Damn right old man,'

Shiro grabbed the largest present from the tree, a long box with a blue bow on top, and walked up to him. Neither said anything as he handed him the box.

Unlike the four eyes, Rin made short work of the wrapping, leaving him with a brown box. He didn't linger, and opened the box, what he saw inside made his eyes widen.

"That's the Kurikara sword, the treasure of the Myōō Dharani sect. It was given to me by the sect's head priest."

Rin took the katana out of the box, letting the box fall to the floor as he held on to the blade almost reverently.

"I never really had any use for it, but since you're a knight and in need of a sword, I thought, what the hell."

Rin kept looking at the sword, at loss for words. He knows about the Kurikara sword, he read about it under legendary Makens. Of course, it can't really be classified as a Maken anymore, seeing as the demon inhabiting it left long ago, but it's still an impressive blade, and incredibly rare so why would Shiro give it to him?

"I-I mean -I-"

"Don't mention it kiddo, just make sure to take good care of it."

Rin looked at him wide-eyed, holding the sword in both hands, about to do something he never thought he would do.

"Thank you."

* * *

Once everyone had gone to sleep, and even Yukio was quietly snoring in his bed, Rin stayed up polishing his new sword.

The Kurikara, his eyes still can't believe it. He has a sword of his own, given to him by the Illuminati and it's of the highest quality, but nothing compares to this one. He still can't understand how Shiro could give this sword to him, it belongs in a museum or something. Still, he wasn't going to give it back or anything, but he did feel a little guilty of what's to come and what he will do with this sword.

He applied some more polish to it to make the metal shine some more, when he saw a strange light coming from outside the window.

Rin narrowed his eyes and lowered the sword. He pulled the blinds to see what the source of the light was, and his eyes widened.

Without saying a word, nor showing any hesitation he parted the blinds completely and softly opened the window. When he heard Yukio's snort stop, he stopped opening the window and looked back. He watched as the Four-eyes twitched his nose, but continued snoring again.

Rin let out a breath, relieved and finished opening the window. Without so much as looking, he leaped out. The fall wasn't even that big, and even if it had been he would have been fine.

He walked out of the monastery, feeling the usual strange feeling every time he walked through the wards. The first time he had exited the monastery during the night for a stroll he half expected an alarm to go off, but there was no such thing and he was thankful. He really rather not have a fight with the Old man, especially not now, not when he's here.

Rin walked to the spot where he had seen it, the seraphim. Ever since he left the Illuminati and started his mission he hasn't been contacted by them, not once. He was hoping for some form of communication, for them to reach out to him and tell him something, anything, but they haven't. For a moment he thought this mission is actually an excuse to get him out of the way, even though Lucifer knows that's completely out of their father's orders. However, now they've finally contacted him.

His eyes shifted around, looking for the seraphim, until he finally spotted it atop the roof of a building.

Rin bent his knees and leaped up into the air, reaching the top of the building in one bound.

The seraphim stood in the middle of the roof, away from the eyes of anyone looking outside their window. Lucifer may not care about the secrecy of their race, but even he knows that revealing it would be counterproductive to their plans, at least for the time being.

As always, the seraphim was bright, almost too painful to look at straight on. Thankful that didn't last for very long as the demon slowly disappeared like a light going out, revealing Lucifer himself standing behind it.

For the third time on that very same night, Rin's eyes widened.

"Rin," Lucifer's voice was raspy.

It took him awhile to realize that his brother was standing there, not as a projection or anything, but actually there, he could feel the power that matched his own oozing out of him. Lucifer wore his usual uniform, with cape and all. In fact, it was weird seeing his brother, his uniform all clean and perfect, not a hair out of place on a roof, a normal setting. The bags under his eyes were still prominent, and he still looked sickly, but he did look better than before which means that he's been taking his serum, which also means that the time to act is getting closer and closer.

"Brother," Rin bowed his head slightly in respect. He may be technically stronger than Lucifer, but his brother is still the most influential demon in Gehenna. "I never expected you to come here yourself."

Lucifer's never been one to show much facial expression, so as always he looked, for a lack of a better word, bored? If that's the right word to describe it? More like devoid of any emotions perhaps.

"I had to come myself," he said simply, not giving him any further explanation.

Before he might have just left it there, but it's been months since they last spoke, he deserves some answers.

"It's been months, so why now?"

Lucifer didn't respond right away, instead he turned on the spot and walked to the edge of the roof. His footsteps precise, and sure, but he could still see his knees wobbling slightly. Rin followed him until he stood by his side, looking at Lucifer who he noticed had his eyes trained on the monastery. For a second he worried someone might see them, but then realized they were too high up and at a strange angle so they're safe from any wayward attention.

"Today's the human holiday, Christmas."

Rin looked at Lucifer confused, and also a little shocked that he actually knew that. What could Christmas have anything to do with his visit?

His brother finally turned his eyes to his, emotionless as usual.

"we're close to your date of birth. I knew some conflicting emotions may arise, so I came here."

Silence passed between them, only the sound of traffic could be heard. Rin wondered if he heard right. Did he really imply he might get emotional over his birth date? Him?

Rin growled.

"You say that as if I'm one of them!" He gestured to the people below them.

Lucifer didn't seem at all phased by his anger, nor amused by it. He simply blinked and met his eyes full on, their imposition targeted at him.

"You forget yourself Rin."

For a second he actually wanted to challenge him, have the fight he always wanted and possibly level the city, but knew there is no point in doing that, not when they're supposed to work together. Instead he grit his teeth and turned his head away, curling his tail so that it was closer to his body, a show of submission. Pleased, but not facially showing it Lucifer turned his eyes back on the monastery.

"You may be a demon, but a small part of you is still human despite our best efforts," he declared.

Rin huffed and crossed his arms.

"My human side may still reside in me, but it's just remnants, not enough to control me."

Lucifer didn't agree or disagree.

"Having a human side in you may prove useful in the long run, so long as you don't stray from your path." Rin watched as his brother turned his head fully so that he had all his attention on him once more. "I hope you haven't forgotten what our father has ordered you to do."

Things seemed to get quiet as Rin didn't answer, instead he looked anywhere else but at Lucifer as he felt a pang of uncertainty hit him. Of course the knowledge has been at the back of his mind ever since he started the mission, ever since he came to this world but the more time has passed the more he tries to forget about it. He's not weak, he'll do what's asked of him despite how difficult it gets to carry out the mission. He pledged on it after all, pledged to follow orders, put his soul on it even, he can't back down not even if he wanted to.

Lucifer turned his eyes back on the monastery, this time they shun more brightly than ever before.

"Before you come back to us, you must kill Shiro Fujimoto."

* * *

Hey guys, it's been a while! sorry for taking so long to update, but hey here I am! Also, thanks to everyone who's still sticking to this story despite how long it's been.

Anyways, next chapter were finally starting the whole True cross arc, if everything goes as planned on my end. Anyways, that being said I really have to figure out what the pairing will be and honestly, I have no clue as who it'll be or if there'll be one. That being said I want to ask you guys what pairing you want to see, seeing as I really don't know. I remember someone saying Shura/Rin but for some reason, I can't get Rin/Renzo out of my head, a pairing I've never seen before. I don't know why but I see Yukio with Shura, I feel like it's being implied a little in the manga, and because they're polar opposites it's kinda interesting. Anyways, I don't like the Bon/Rin pairing simply because I'm not a huge Bon fan, yea sorry folks he's not my cup of tea. Also, I can't pair Rin with any of the demon kings even though they're technically not brothers, it just doesn't sit well seeing as they still see each other as brothers. That makes the list pretty short, and I'm interested in seeing what you think. What pairing do you want to see? Heck I can accept OC, but I know people aren't a big fan of that. also, I accept any gender pairing, FXM MXM, whatever you want to see in this story.

Anyways, being the dedicated writer I researched Christmas in Japan and it was interesting to find that it isn't a third as big as it is in the western world. Just some food for thought.

Alright, so that's it from me. so thank you for reviewing, for reading, and see you guys next time!


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